If It's Me Reading the Signs
by SpencerArbre
Summary: AU story. Quinn and Rachel live in a world where your soul mates initials are tattooed on your skin, but what will Quinn do when she finds out 'RB' stands for Rachel Berry. Will she choose the girl or let her overbearing father take her love away from her? Follow Quinn and Rachel on a journey of love, lust, loss, and learning. It's going to be a crazy ride.
1. Chapter 1

AN: I do not own glee or any of its characters. I am deeply sorry for any and all typos or mistakes. This is my first fanfiction ever. I am going to try my best to update once a week. Let's do this.

Chapter 1

Quinn wiped her face on the towel, feeling the soft material wipe the drops of water away. As she wrapped the towel around her wet, naked body, she stepped out of the shower and walked into the locker room. She opened her locker and pulled out her second Cheerios uniform, hanging it up on the locker door and looking if over for a moment. Quinn loved this uniform – her red and white coat of armor. As long as she was wearing that skirt, she was untouchable. She loved it more than she loved winning, more than she loved her parents, more than she loved herself. It was what she hid behind. It was Quinn's strength, her everything. Life revolved around this uniform. She loved nothing more than to walk down the hallway and watch as the students parted for her.

As Quinn walked down the hallway, she kept her chin up and her chest out – she kept her walls up, she kept everyone else out. She held her books to her chest hiding her assets from the boys who fawned over her. She liked to give them enough to look at but also leave room for imagination. She would smile as she walked giving them hope that maybe she would talk to them. But she usually talked to Finn, the dopey jock she lugged around with her. He was the quarterback and she was the head Cheerio.

The only reason she stayed with Finn was because of pressure from her parents to maintain her image and live the 'perfect' life. It was a daily struggle. Every day when she came home her mother would walk into the living room and ask if she had imprinted yet. When the answer was no, which it always was, her mother would frown at her and say, "Well perhaps tomorrow." Quinn could feel the disappointment and shame festering in that sentence day after day, so of course she couldn't leave Finn. If she did she might never have a civil moment with her mother again.

Her parents told her that she and Finn were meant to be. They encouraged her to stay with him and every day after school they would ask how that boy was. She always told them what they wanted to hear even if it wasn't true. It didn't matter though because in her parents eyes they were destined to be together. They were the star crossed lovers and they would be wed as soon as Quinn finished college. Her life was all planned out for her. She had only one problem: the initials on her wrist were not "FH".

Quinn's sister Frannie was the golden child. She had everything her parents had ever wanted for their family. Frannie had met her mate, Duncan, when they were in high school. Frannie was the Cheerio's captain, the Celibacy club president, student body president, and the valedictorian. She and Duncan had imprinted right away, strengthening their bond quickly - faster than most. Quinn suspected it was because of the pressure from her parents, but it might have also just been because her sister was an overachiever in everything she did.

Frannie didn't go to college though, she was a stay at home wife now while Duncan was a CEO of Lima's only Super Wennie Hut Junior Incorporated, which of course had made them filthy rich and brought only more pride and power to the Fabray name.

This was the exact life Quinn's parents wanted for her, but she didn't want to live that way. She didn't want to be a trophy for her husband to flaunt or to take care of his children while he was away on business. Quinn wanted to be the one going away on business, doing great things and not being weighed down by another being. She wanted to be in control of her own life. If she had to have any sort of trophy it would be a trophy husband. She would never submit to any man. It made Finn a convenient choice because he was too stupid to question anything she ordered him to do. But she was by no means satisfied with her relationship with Finn. She knew there was more out there, someone who could be her equal, maybe even challenge her. But her parents would never let her have that.

Quinn was shaken from her thoughts when she felt and intense burning on the inside of her wrist. The blonde dropped her books and grabbed her wrist trying to relieve herself from the pain. But when she looked down at her wrist, she could see the initials 'RB' turning bright red. The imprint was beginning but she didn't see anyone else in pain. She spun around trying to find the person who was doing this to her but she couldn't find them and it angered her because she couldn't be the only person going through this. Everyone was staring at her, she looked like an idiot and someone in this hallway was to blame.

The burning was becoming worse. She knew they were getting closer. She could literally feel it. She looked harder profiling every person in the hallway, checking to see if anyone was pretending to ignore the burning. She looked for the red hot letters on the wrists of everyone who passed by but she could not see any. As she was turning again, a body crashed into her. She bounced off of them stunned for a moment before she saw it. The girl's wrist was red, and the initials LF were burning into it, however she didn't seem to be experiencing any pain.

Time seemed to stop for a moment when she realized she was looking at her mate. She was almost afraid to raise her eyes to see the face of the girl who was going to change her life forever, but she couldn't resist. Quinn's hazel eyes were met with chocolate brown eyes that smiled back at her. They were so welcoming and warm that Quinn got lost in them for a second until she realized Rachel was bending down to pick up Quinn's books for her. "Here let me help you with those," the girl said, handing her the stack she had dropped. As Quinn took the books from her she was forced to see her initials again. Bright red and burning. How could she not feel that? Why was she not affected by any of this?

The girl's face fell a moment later, "Are you okay? You look a little pale.." Quinn just stared at her for a second longer, trying to process what was happening. Everything was happening at once. The intense pain was creeping up her arm and she was having trouble concentrating on anything else but trying to make it stop. She couldn't think, let alone speak. The girl stared at her clearly concerned until Quinn ran off in the other direction without saying a word.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hello everyone! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing my story it really does mean the world to me. Yes I'm sorry the first couple of chapters are painfully short. But I promise they will get longer and begin revealing more very soon. There were a few question people had asked about the signs and Quinn's parents being so set one Finn. These things will be revealed later so I really don't want to spoil them for you now. This chapter is even shorter than the first. Again I'm so very sorry. Hang in there. I promise it will get better. Again I do not own glee or it's characters though I wish I did.

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Chapter 2

Rachel stared after the girl who had sprinted in the other direction. Her eyes had followed her through the crowd until she disappeared around the corner but Rachel still couldn't figure out what had happened. All she had done was try to help her and she looked like she was going to vomit all over Rachel's loafers.

Then Rachel shrugged her shoulders and continued down the hallway to her first class. She wasn't going to ruin her first day of class by obsessing over some weird blonde cheerleader. The people here in general seemed to be very strange though. She had noticed that everyone seemed to be obsessed over something called a mate…Rachel didn't know what that was but apparently here it was a big deal. She heard murmmers of the word through every hallway.

Rachel knew that moving to a new neighborhood would be a culture shock but she did not know that it would be this much. She couldn't understand why everyone was so obsessed with finding their mate". Back in New York she had never even heard the word. Everyone was so busy trying to get ahead that it never came up. Even her dads had failed to mention what a mate was to her. Were _they_ even mates? She had no idea.

Rachel had moved from New York because her fathers, Hiram and Leroy Berry, were the top surgeons in the entire country, they traveled a lot on business to give lectures and improve other hospitals. They also had surgeries scheduled all over the nation. They had moved because the hospital in Lima, Ohio was in need of some major improvements and her fathers had bought the entire company to build it from the bottom up and help the people in the town. Rachel was forced to tag along. She had to leave her beloved New York to come to this small town. She wasn't bitter, but she did miss New York.

This whole mate thing would not be a problem for Rachel because she was not looking, she wasn't watching for her mate. She didn't really care if she found them or not. It was trivial to her, she didn't need anyone holding her back and distracting her from her dream of being on Broadway one day. She was happy being single.

When it was clear that the blonde had been scared off and wasn't coming back, maybe ever, Rachel continued walking in the direction of her first class. She looked down at her schedule with a frown. She wasn't too excited about any of her classes this semester. Except for glee club. It was an extracurricular class and it wouldn't count toward her GPA - which was unfortunate because she would no doubt get an A - but it counted as a credit hour. It was every day after school which was perfect for Rachel. She didn't like going home to her empty house every day. She needed to make some friends to take home with her when she got lonely.

When she finally found her classroom, Rachel walked in and took a seat in the third row against the wall. This was her favorite spot in every classroom for two reasons. It was far enough in back so that she never got called on, but it was also far enough up front so no one suspected she was doing anything suspicious. It was the perfect spot.

She opened her backpack reaching for out her daily planner and so that she could begin checking off her daily routine. Morning elliptical: _check_, vegan protein shake: _check_, school: _check_. The only thing left on her checklist was make a friend and glee club. Hopefully she could do both this afternoon.

Rachel looked up at the clock and saw that it was only 7:50 am. There were still ten minutes before homeroom started so she pulled out another notebook and began doodling. As she drew in her notebook she saw something on her wrist that she had never seen before. Bright red letters on the inside of her wrist. "What the…" When Rachel touched them they were hot. Not warm but hot. She pulled back quickly, sucking on the tip of her finger where the letters had burnt her skin. The letters 'LF' were staring back at her, but she had no idea why.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hello again, thank you for all of the feed back on this story it is greatly appreciated. I literally can't wait a whole week to post each chapter because of you guys. It's great. Another short chapter. I'm sorry, but I promise it will be worth the wait. Posting days are going to be either tuesdays or wednesdays every week. With that said I own nothing and enjoy. :)

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Chapter 3

Quinn kept running until she got back to the girls' locker room, she dropped her books so the slap of them hitting the ground would echo through the room. She knew that Brittany and Santana would hear it and quickly make themselves decent. "Britt…San…Where are you guys I need to talk to you. Now." Quinn yelled into the open space. She could hear the shake in her own voice as it echoed back to her but she really didn't care right now.

"God Q…who died, or better question who did you kill because I really don't want to hide a body." Santana joked as she came around the corner. She pulled her shirt down as she walked towards Quinn and Brittany quickly followed zipping up her cheerios uniform. The pair sat down on a bench in front of Quinn. "Hi, Quinn." Brittany waved smiling up at the girl and Quinn couldn't help but let a small smile slip onto her lips. No one could make her feel better faster than Brittany could - the girl was like a little ball of sunshine. How she got unlucky enough to be mated to Santana Quinn would never know. But she was still happy they had each other.

The girls sat in silence for a few moments before Santana spoke. "So…you wanted to talk. Are you going to speak or just stand there? I didn't get pulled away from my sweet lady kisses for nothing, okay?"

Quinn frowned again, now that she was going to actually tell them she wasn't sure she wanted to. She was afraid to say it out loud - if she said it, it would be real. "I…" Quinn started but she felt a lump form in her throat. "Well…" Quinn tried again but nothing would come out. She balled up her fists willing herself to speak but the only thing that came out was a sob. A loud sob should couldn't fight. The tears came quickly after and she covered her face with her hands trying to hide her weakness from her friends.

No one moved. Brittany and Santana sat on their bench staring at Quinn for a moment. They knew better than to approach the girl without warning her, so they waited for her to bring her hands back down and look at them, but she never did. Santana rose from the bench and slowly approached the blonde, "Quinn…" She tried to get the girl's attention but she was crying too hard. Santana reached out and gently wrapped her fingers around Quinn's wrist, pulling it down from her face. "Quinn look at me."

Quinn raised her eyes to look at Santana but immediately regretted it when she saw the fear on her face. "I'm sorry, San. It's not what you think it is. He hasn't touched me in weeks." Quinn sniffled and wrapped her arms around herself. "But it's bad. It's really bad. If my parents find out my dad…he might actually kill me this time."

Brittany got up from the bench and stood with the two girls. "Quinn, you know we aren't going to let him lay a finger on you. When we found you after he caught you coming back from Finn's… that was the last straw. He almost killed you once. We won't let it happen again. Whatever it is, it will be okay. Just tell us what happened."

Quinn took a moment to collect her thoughts and then said it. She knew that Santana and Brittany would understand, "It's a girl."

Brittany and Santana's jaws dropped in unison. "Are you kidding me..how do you know did you see her?" Santana asked frantically.

"I bumped into her in the hallway. I saw my initials on her. They were red so it wasn't just a mistake. They were mine," Quinn felt another tear roll down her face, "My life is over. I need to run away, get out of the country. Go anywhere but here."

"I hear it's nice down in Brazil," Brittany chimed in but Santana and Quinn were not amused.

"No Q. That's not how we are dealing with this. We can do this okay? You don't have to leave the country. She's just a normal girl like you and me. We'll get through this together. We won't let anything bad happen."

"How can you say that San? Do you remember what happened when I got a B?" Quinn held out her arm showing Santana the scar that her father had given her for being 'academically inadequate.' "He burnt me with his cigar. And that time he caught me coming home late? I think I might still be healing from that. He literally broke my nose and I had to go back to the surgeon to get it fixed. I had to tell everyone I fell down the stairs and hit my face on the railing. If my father finds out he will most likely find a way to finish what he started last time. I won't be okay. It won't be okay."

"No he's not. He will never lay a finger on you again. Not while me and Britt are her,." Santana said pushing down Quinn's arm. "I know you're scared but seriously even if something does happen we got your back Q. Don't worry."

Brittany nodded, agreeing with Santana. As much as Quinn wanted to believe her friends she had an awful feeling about this. She knew that everything was going to fall to pieces somehow. "Come on Quinn, let's get you cleaned up before homeroom."

The two girls sat her down and fixed her make up, clearing away the streaks of mascara on her cheeks and hiding the puffiness of her eyes. As she sat there letting her friends put her face back together, she realized that everything had changed. She knew that her life was never going to be the same. She knew she wasn't going to die and that her father wasn't going to actually throw her in the fireplace, but she knew she would never live again. From now on everything would revolve around keeping herself from imprinting on those brown eyes she had seen in the hallway. Her life would be hell. But hell was better than being dead. Right?


	4. Chapter 4

A/N Hello everyone! I'm sorry for the latish upload. I have been pretty sick these last few days, but I could not leave you hanging any longer so here it is. I believe this is a bit short again and I know I keep saying that. It seems the short chapters will never end but they will. I promise. Anyway as usual I do not own anything and enjoy. :)

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Chapter 4

Rachel sat at her desk looking at the clock every couple of minutes to check when her fellow classmates would arrive. She had drawn more than a few doodles while she had been waiting, but she was beginning to become impatient. The students at Mckinley were not timely at all.

When Rachel looked at the clock it was 8:00 and she was still alone in the classroom. She sighed and went back to her doodles. At 8:02 another student finally walked into the room. He was tall, very tall and he had a dopey look on his face. Not the stupid kind of dopey, but the 'I'm a big tall stud and everyone thinks this face is cute so I just keep doing it' kind of dopey. He sat all the way in the back and she was not surprised.

He was wearing a letterman's jacket, clearly the boy was a jock. Rachel kept looking him over trying to figure out if she wanted to speak to him or not. In the end she decided she should get him while she could. His friends were probably not far behind and if she could talk to him for a few minutes alone maybe she could make an acquaintance. She turned in her desk to full face him and cleared her throat. "Hello. I'm a new student this year. My name is Rachel Berry."

The boy quickly turned his head to look at Rachel and smiled. Even his smile was dopey. It was endearing..in a strange way. "Oh hey. I'm Finn. Hudson. I'm a sophomore."

"Nice to meet you Finn. I'm very sorry to bother you. I just don't have any friends. You were unlucky enough to be the first person to walk in here," Rachel joked.

"No that's cool. I'd be happy to show you around if you'd like. I mean if no one has yet." He smiled his dopey smile again. Rachel wondered if he did that to all the girls he talked to. He probably did because it was effective.

"That would be great. I'd really love that actually."

"Sure. No problem. I can show you - " But before Finn could finish his sentence he was cut off.

"Finn! Where were you this morning…You didn't come to my locker. You are supposed to walk me to homeroom every morning. Not just when you feel like it. What kind of boyfriend are you?" A blond girl stormed through the door and plopped down in the seat next to Finn.

Finn rose his hands defensively moving away from the girl, "I had football practice this morning okay. It was mandatory. Some guys got busted for drugs and we all had to go in. I'm sorry babe. I'll tell you next time something comes up."

"Good." The blonde turned forward in her chair and looked straight at Rachel. It was the girl she had run into this morning. Now that Rachel was looking at her from a little farther away she could see the uniform she was wearing. It looked like a cheerleading uniform. Typical relationship. Football player and cheerleader. Rachel chuckled in her head at it. "What are you looking at?"

Rachel looked around the room to see who she was talking to and pointed to herself when she didn't see anyone else. The blonde nodded her head in confirmation. "Nothing. I'm sorry." Rachel turned back around in her desk and folded her hands not wanting to anger the girl anymore than she already had.

"I don't want to see you talking to my boyfriend again. Do you understand?" The blonde all but growled at Rachel.

_Bossy thing isn't she_..Rachel thought to herself, but she didn't answer out loud, not wanting to anger the girl anymore than she already had. She nodded her head showing her that she understood.

When Rachel looked around the room again it was almost full. She looked through the classroom trying to find another potential friend but didn't see anyone who caught her attention. Her eyes kept drifting back to the blonde and Finn. Another two girls had sat beside and in back of the blonde, they were both wearing cheerleading uniforms as well. This school was so cliquey.

The homeroom teacher finally walked into the room and took attendance before sitting at his desk and messing around on his computer. The class sat around and talked for the remainder of homeroom.

Rachel sat at her desk and doodled. She looked down at her wrist. It was so hot Rachel could feel the heat on her other arm as she drew in her notebook. She didn't want to touch it again fearing that she might get burned again. Instead Rachel took her pen and poked it. The ink from the pen turning into liquid and running down her arm as soon as it touched her skin. It was a first but Rachel was scared of her own skin.

She tried to ignore it but it was becoming bothersome. It was so hot, but it didn't hurt…it was just hot and annoying. She had no idea what was causing it so she continued examining her wrist until she felt eyes on her again. Turning around, Rachel saw the blond looking at her again, but this time instead of anger she saw…sadness. Was she bipolar or…was Rachel imagining these emotions on the girl's face?

Rachel knew she wasn't imagining things when the brunette cheerleader sitting next to her swatted the blonde's arm and shook her head, she appeared to be telling her no. Rachel was confused as to why none of them were allowed to interact with Rachel but whatever she had done to the group she could not concentrate on. She had to focus on getting through her first day of class.

When the bell finally rang Rachel watched the blond sprint out of the room. It was the strangest thing she had ever seen. First she was yelling at her boyfriend to walk her to class and now she was running away from him.

She turned around and saw the three people she had left behind gaping after her. The two cheerleaders ran after her while Finn just kept staring at the open door. "I know I'm not supposed to talk to you..but is this normal?" Rachel asked.

Finn shook his head. "No, this is definitely new. I'm sorry I have to go check out what just happened. It was nice meeting you though."

"Likewise," Rachel replied as he walked out the door.

This was going to be a very…eventful year.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone! I'm sorry this is up so late again. I just lost track of the time. I really have nothing to say except thank you so much for reading and reviewing it really motivates me to post these up every week. Please leave your reviews and tell me what you think. As always enjoy :)**

Chatper 5

When Quinn walked into her homeroom and saw that her mate was sitting there talking to her boyfriend, it enraged her. It made her even more angry that she wasn't mad she was talking to him, she was mad he was talking to her. She was…no. She would never be Quinn's. She had to remember that or she would get swallowed up in this mess. She had to deny it. She had to try to deny it at least.

It was almost an impossible task due to the PEA. Phenylethylamine, otherwise known as the love drug. When you first came in contact with your mate, a large burst of chemicals was shot into your system forming two initials on your skin. These weren't really just markings, they were glands that became an extension of your endocrine system. They formed to regulate your PEA secretion. However they functions psychologically just as much as they did physically. If you could not accept your mate and let yourself bond your body would attack the chemicals. That's what caused the burning.

Once you accepted your mate the PEA would regulate itself, putting a hault to the burning and beginning a number of things. First of all there was love. Love could only be felt after you accepted your mate. You then fell in love, madly in love. This took time though, it took different lengths of time for different people. For some it only took a few weeks to complete. For others it took years. For Quinn it could never happen. She would never let the process complete itself.

Trying to stop the PEA from taking over your system was dangerous. It had proven to make both mates ill and sometimes even kill one or both mates. It could be stopped but not without a great deal of suffering first. Quinn was prepared to suffer, she had been suffering her entire life, what was a little more misery? She only had two years left in this miserable place. She could get through it.

Quinn went to homeroom on her own because Brittany and Santana decided to have another make out session in the shower before class. She knew there was a chance they may not even show up at all which had made her anxious, she knew the brunette would be there again. She had to face her, one way or another she had to get through this year with her mate so close to her on a daily basis.

Quinn had been sitting in class, minding her own business when suddenly her wrist felt like it had been set on fire. It might have been because she was staring longingly at the brunette sitting in front of her. She held her wrist to her stomach trying to hide her pain. The entire class Quinn sat hunched over her desk trying to hide her discomfort. When her teacher called her name for attendance she did her best to answer him with her normal light voice. No one seemed to notice the way she cradled her arm and she felt a bit of relief from that.

When the bell rang she ran out the door trying to get as far away from the brunette as possible. She ran all the way back to her locker and opened it, putting her head in the cool dark space trying to catch her breath. Not long after she heard her name being called. "Quinn!" She looked behind her to see Santana running after her. "Quinn..what the hell is wrong with you? Why are you freaking out?"

"She was in there. She was the one talking to Finn. It started burning again. I couldn't take it anymore." Quinn said still holding her wrist. It had stopped burning on the surface but she could still feel a faint pain deep beneath her skin.

"Oh…shit. Quinn your mate is hot...it's gonna be hard trying to deny that huh," Santana joked. "Britt Britt and I can take care of her needs if you want.."

"Santana! No! Don't be crude." Quinn said glaring at the girl.

"No..I like that idea…" Brittany chimed in.

Quinn slammed her locker and walked away leaving the two girls behind her. "I'm going to class I'll see you later," she said over her shoulder.

When Quinn walked into her class she made sure to check every desk to make sure she wouldn't run into her mate again. Luckily she wasn't. Quinn sighed in relief and sat down at her regular desk. She felt so much more relaxed now that the burning had subsided.

After the third class of the day was mate-free Quinn was sure it would be smooth sailing. She had gotten through five classes and she was feeling great. Lunch was relaxing and she spoke to Santana and Brittany about the brunette for a while. They still wanted to take care of her mate until Quinn could claim her as her own but Quinn would never forgive herself if she agreed to that. It was immoral and just disgusting.

"Seriously, Quinn I think it's a great idea. She will be experienced and be able to take care of every desire you will ever have for the rest of your life. If it were me I would jump at the opportunity." Quinn grimaced at the thought of Santana and Brittany deflowering her mate.

"Thanks..but no thanks. I don't need her trained okay? Besides that's never going to happen. I can't be with her and that's final. I already told you my future is set in stone and I can't stray away from the path my parents have made for me," Quinn said before she shoved a piece of lettuce into her mouth.

"Look, I think it's great that you have all of this ambition to be someone someday, but you have to realize that denying her could kill you..especially since you already have that shit running through your system. That's dangerous stuff and you shouldn't mess with it. I'm not saying go running to papa Russell and tell him that your fate is to be a carpet licker, but I am saying that you should consider at least talking to her. Telling her what's up." Quinn rolled her eyes at Santana, she didn't want to listen to her friend even though she knew Santana was right.

"Quinn…" Brittany said quietly.

"Yes, Brittany?"

"I think Santana is right. I think she said it a more forceful and demanding way than she needed to, but I do think you should talk to her. You can't do this forever. You're going to get very sick if you don't do something. I don't want you to be sick. Neither of us do and we know you don't either. Think of it this way. You're doing it for your future because without being healthy you will get nowhere."

Brittany had a good point. A very good point, and Quinn couldn't ignore the fact that if she was deathly ill for the next couple of years her career would be in jeopardy. "Okay, Britt. I guess I can give it a try."

Santana slammed her hand on the table, "Dammit, Q! Why don't you ever listen to me?!"

Quinn chuckled at her friend's outburst. "Well for one...I like seeing you get worked up, and two...you are very demanding and crude. It makes me not want to listen to you."

Santana rolled her eyes and went back to eating her salad, "Whatever. I just tell it like it is. I'm not going to sugar coat it like Britt Britt."

Brittany frowned and Santana quickly took back her previous statement. "I love it when you sugar coat Britt. Just not for Q because she is a stubborn ass. You can sugar coat for me all you want, babe." Brittany smiled brightly and kissed Santana on the cheek. Quinn smiled at her two best friends. Two of the strongest girls she knew, and the cutest couple she had ever seen.

Lunch had gone by far too quickly but for the rest of the day Quinn had remained mate free. When the last bell rang she was relieved. She felt a huge weight lifted off her shoulders. All she had to do was get through glee club and then she could go home. Not that home was any better than the searing pains she felt in her wrist, but at least she wouldn't have to worry about any progression of the imprint.

Finn met her at her locker this time and they walked to glee club hand in hand. The rest of the club was already there, seated in the chairs on the risers. She took her seat at the front of the room and Finn draped his arm over her shoulders. As she waited for glee to start she felt her wrist beginning to tingle again though there was no sign of the brunette.

As much at Quinn didn't love Finn, he did make her feel comfortable. He made her feel safe. He was a good boyfriend and he took care of her. She knew that as long as she was with him nothing bad would ever happen to her and she didn't want to give that up. She didn't want to go back to how it was before. She didn't want the cigar burns and the black eyes. She enjoyed having her father's approval. She felt loved, like she was a part of the family again. She couldn't leave Finn no matter how badly she wanted to.

Mr. Shue the glee club director, walked in a few minutes after she had arrived. He clapped his hands together and began to speak. "Okay class. Today we have a new member. I am pleased to introduce you to Rachel Berry."

When Quinn saw the girl standing in the middle of the room she nearly lost it as her wrist set on fire once again. Rachel Berry was her mate. She finally had a name and she hated it. She hated every syllable of that name. She balled up her fists in an attempt contain her anger, but she couldn't, "You have got to be kidding me…she is not joining glee club." Quinn growled.

Santana put her hand on Quinn's thigh to try and calm her but the blonde didn't even notice. "Quinn, the glee club accepts anyone who auditions. We can't turn her away. She has a great voice, she could really help us get to nationals this year." Mr. Shue tried to reason with the blonde.

Quinn glared at Mr. Shue, of course he would find Rachel, of course she would invade every part of her life. "Fine." Quinn leaned back in her chair letting Finn wrap his arm around her defensively. She leaned into his side, hoping that she would feel better, but she didn't. She felt helpless and alone, but most of all she felt cheated. She felt like her life had been stolen from her the moment Rachel Berry set food in Lima, Ohio.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Hello my lovely readers. This chapter is...just please don't hate me okay? Longer chapters are still on the way. I promise. Just hang in there. I don't own anything. And enjoy :)**

Chapter 6

Rachel's smile faltered as soon a the blond girl, whose name was apparently Quinn, immediately shut her out of the group. Rachel thought the glee club would be the one place she could feel accepted, but again she was wrong. When Mr. Shue told her the glee club could use a voice like hers she felt needed. It had made her genuinely happy for the first time in forever, but Quinn ruined it all in an instant.

The brunette stood up straight and put her smile back on her face. Quinn wasn't going to ruin this for her. "Regardless of what Quinn seems to think of me, I have prepared a piece to show all of you what I have to offer to this team. I chose this song to show each and every one of you that I am here to win and nothing is going to stop us from dominating at nationals this year."

Rachel looked over at the piano player and nodded for him to start. After a short intro from the band Rachel started to sing.

'_Just a small town girl, Livin' in a lonely world She took the midnight train Goin' anywhere….'_

As Rachel sang the members of the glee club perked up, as they became more excited she grew more confident. She moved around the room singing to every member individually and each of them seemed to enjoy her presence.

She danced around the room until the last note of the song which she had to stand still for because she belted it out as strong as she could. When she was finished everyone clapped for her. Everyone except for Quinn, who sat there with her arms crossed and her brow furrowed.

Mr. Shue clapped and told her to sit down with the rest of the group before he began with the assignment for the week. The assignment was a single word on the board, 'courage'. What the hell? How were they even supposed to complete that?

Everyone was assigned to find songs that gave them courage, which she thought was stupid because it takes courage to sing in front of people anyway. I guess it's the effort that counts in this class.

When glee club was over Rachel walked back to her locker to get her backpack. She put in the combination and started looking through her things. She opened her planner to check what books she needed to take home. English, Spanish, and "You don't belong here." Rachel quickly whipped around to find Quinn standing behind her.

"I…excuse me? Have I done something to make you angry? Because if I have, I sincerely apologize. If there is anything I can do t-" Quinn put her hand up motioning, for Rachel to stop talking.

"I want you to leave. That's what I want. Get out of my school. Get out of my town. I don't care. Just get out." Quinn was glaring at Rachel with so much hate in her eyes she seriously thought about just leaving Lima altogether.

Rachel took a moment to think about what she wanted to do. She didn't want to be a coward. She just moved here and she had done nothing wrong. Rachel Berry was not going to be forced out of her new home by a territorial cheerleader. Rachel put her hands on her hips and replied to Quinn's verbal attack. "Okay, no. You listen to me, Quinn Fabray. I just moved her because my dads are surgeons and they travel a lot. They are here to save lives okay? Don't tell me what to do because you don't own me. I don't know what your problem is and honestly I don't really care."

"I don't care why you are here Rachel. Just get out okay? Please just leave me alone. I don't need this. Especially not from you." Quinn's face fell, she looked defeated.

"What is going on? I don't understand why you are doing this. If there is something I can do to make this better..I will. Anything." Rachel took a step towards Quinn but the blonde winced and took a step back. Rachel gasped at the sudden movement.

Quinn's shoulders relaxed and she sighed, exhausted from trying to keep her worries away from Rachel. "Look down. At your wrist." Rachel looked down and saw the two red letters again. "How have you not felt that all day?"

"I did. It just gets hot but I don't know what it is…I was going to ask my dads when I got home." Rachel turned her wrist to touch the two letters again but got burnt again. She had never seen a mark up close before. Her fathers were never home and when they were they were in their work clothes. The long sleeves covered their arms all the time. "I've never seen one up close before."

Quinn scoffed "How have you never seen one? Everyone has them."

"Where I moved from no one is obsessed with them. We don't think about them okay? Cut me a break. I know nothing about any of this stuff." Rachel looked down at it again.

"It's your sign." Quinn rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. "You are an idiot. It figures I got you as my mate."

"I already know that I am not going to like you. I think this was a mistake," Rachel said moving her wrist back down, "I really don't understand why this is so hard for you. The stories I have heard about mates are nothing like this. You meet, fall in love, and that's it. I don't know why you are making this more difficult than it has to be."

"Because I don't like you. At all. I don't like your face, or your hair, or your stupid voice. You're good Rachel, honestly, but you need to leave me alone. I don't want to be your mate. I don't need you, I'm fine with Finn."

"What is this honestly about? The fact that you want to date Finn or because I'm a girl and you are a great big homophobe?"

Quinn furrowed her brow and took a step towards Rachel. She felt the burning intensify but ignored it. She wanted to get rid of Rachel now, "You know what Rachel? This isn't about Finn, or being homophobic. It's about me being happy with my life right now and not wanting you coming and messing everything up. So please stay out of my life and we will be great mates."

Rachel grabbed her backpack and slammed the door of her locker and stormed off not even giving Quinn the satisfaction of looking back at her. She felt like she had been robbed of something every person should experience. She felt as though part of her heart had been taken from her.

Now that she knew who her mate was she couldn't truly have one. She couldn't honestly live her life being innocently happy because she just hadn't met the right person yet. She met her and her mate didn't want her. Her entire life had been filled with rejection but this was the most heartbreaking rejection Rachel had ever experienced. She knew she would never get over this.

As she sat in her dad's car on the way home she stared down at her wrist. 'LF' That made no sense. Quinn's name started with a Q. But it was obviously not a mistake, her body had reacted to the blond. She rubbed the now cool skin wracked her brain for a reason it would be the wrong letter. It didn't matter now. She didn't need to know anything about Quinn Fabray.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello again! This chapter is a little bit longer. But I am glad to tell you that some of the later chapters I have written are much longer than this. They are coming. Anyway. Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing it really motivates me to put up a new chapter every week. I love hearing from all of you. I still don't own anything and as always enjoy :)**

Chapter 7

Quinn watched Rachel leave. The tiny brunette didn't even respond to the blonde. She simply left. Quinn wasn't sure if she was relieved or hurt by the brunette's response. Either way, she had dealt with the problem and based on the brunettes reaction it wasn't going to come back again.

She drove home that night in silence. In fact, the rest of her night was silent. Her mind was too loud for her to focus on anything around her. She thought about Rachel's face, they way the girl tried to comfort her even though they were complete strangers. The way she questioned her motives and was completely right about them. Except Quinn didn't want to be with Finn, she needed to be with him.

Quinn lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. She felt like she should cry or scream or something, but she was numb. She couldn't feel anything, yet she was feeling too many things at one time. She was feeling proud of herself for doing what her father would have wanted her to but she was also feeling shame for never having the courage to take what she wanted for herself. She was feeling relief that she wouldn't have to deal with Rachel anymore, but she was feeling regret because she would never know the girl she was meant to love. She was mostly just feeling numb because she was Quinn Fabray and she was only supposed to feel what she was told to feel. She was only supposed to be what her parents wanted her to be and she was only supposed to do what would bring pride to her family name.

Quinn finally took her eyes off the ceiling at nine o'clock and decided it was time to do her homework and shower. She mindlessly read pages and filled in answers to the countless worksheets she had been assigned. When she was done with that she went to the shower. When she looked at herself in the mirror while she waited for the shower to warm up, all she could see was her blond hair, her pretty face and her Cheerio's uniform. What else was there? There wasn't anything. Nothing but status and money. If Quinn lost all of her money and the support of her family she would be nothing. She would just be Quinn. Lima loser Quinn. She couldn't bear to see herself stuck here with most of her senior class. She was going to get out of Lima and make something of herself...mate or not.

When she finally decided the shower was warm enough, she washed her body and got ready for bed. It was twelve am when she finally pulled the covers over her. She lay her head down and stared at the ceiling again, waiting for sleep to take over her mind. She thought about what tomorrow would be like. Would Rachel try to talk to her again? Would glee club be awkward? Would her wrist burn as badly as it did today? So many questions filled her head but the loudest one was 'Will I be able to keep myself from falling for her?'

Quinn woke up the next morning feeling confident. She zipped up her Cheerio's uniform, grabbed an apple from the kitchen and left for school. When she got there she went straight to the locker room for Cheerio's practice. Santana and Brittany were already there putting on their practice uniforms. "How many times have I told you two to wait until _after_ practice to do that?" Quinn chuckled as she put her duffle bag in her locker.

"Hey, can you really blame us Q? If you'd go after that hot little brunette you got you'd understand," Santana shot back.

Quinn glared at Santana and slammed her locker shut. Santana put her hands up defensively "Or not, I completely understand," Santana smirked. "You know I'm just pulling your leg. But seriously it is a shame you can't get with that. I mean I could take her for a test run if you want. Me and Britts could teach her all the tricks before she gets to you."

Quinn rolled her eyes and walked out of the locker room leaving a smug Santana and snickering Brittany behind her. "Idiots," Quinn said under her breath as she walked away.

When she got out to the field, Sue was already in the bleachers with her megaphone. Quinn ignored her: she didn't need any drama with Sue today. She was having a good day so far and didn't need it ruined by Sue's psychotic requests.

Quinn led the warm ups and the first couple of routines they were going to be using to compete at nationals this year. As usual Sue called them wimpy babies and sloppy midgets, but Quinn ignored her insults. She knew they Cheerio's great so Sue could suck it today.

Quinn was dreading homeroom. Even as she walked to her locker she was could feel the low burning of her skin around her sign and she knew _she_ would be sitting in the same exact desk with that same exact bright eyed look on her face. Luckily Finn was waiting at Quinn's locker, so at least she wouldn't have to worry about her talking to him. "Well look who remembered to walk me to homeroom today," Quinn swung her locker open and handed Finn her books.

Finn smiled his dopey-crooked smile down at Quinn, "Sorry, babe, you know I didn't mean anything by it."

Quinn smiled up at him and gave him a quick peck to the cheek. "I know. It's okay, I forgive you. This time." Finn's face fell and Quinn smiled to herself knowing that Finn would never let her walk alone again. She walked away and Finn followed.

As they approached the classroom, Quinn's wrist began to burn again and she knew Rachel was there. When she turned into the doorway of the class, the brunette was sitting with her hands folded on top of the desk and a smile on her face. "Good morning, Finn. It's nice to see you again."

Finn nodded at Rachel and walked to the back of the room with Quinn to take their regular seats. Quinn glared at her boyfriend but he simply shrugged his shoulders. He didn't see anything wrong with talking to Rachel but apparently his girlfriend thought otherwise.

Quinn tried to ignore Rachel but the burning in her wrist was making that a difficult task. Every couple of minutes she would look over at Rachel willing her to look back at her so she could at least send her a glare but Rachel never did.

When class finally ended, Quinn sighed in relief as Rachel strode out of the class. The burning in her skin slowly became less severe and she rubbed her wrist and cursed the letters that stared back at her. "You okay, babe?" Finn asked picking up Quinn's books again.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's just go." Finn walked Quinn to her class, gave her a quick peck, and walked to his own class. They went through the same ritual between every period. Quinn mainly did it to keep up appearance while Finn did it because he was a genuinely nice guy. Quinn appreciated the effort but it never did much for her. But she knew would much rather have Finn's sloppy kisses on her cheek than Rachel's.

Quinn enjoyed the Rachel free afternoon she was having. She went through all of her classes with no signs of the brunette. Their little chat yesterday must have been more effective than she thought. She hadn't felt so much as a slight tingle in her wrist since home room and it brought a small smile to her face. She just had to get through glee club and she would be home free.

As she walked to the choir room, she felt the burning come back: why was Rachel early to _everything_? Quinn walked into the choir room and sure enough, Rachel was sitting in the front row right next to Finn again. Quinn growled and stormed towards the brunette, "What did I tell you?! Stay away from me, that means stay away from him too!" Quinn grabbed Finn's wrist and pulled him away from her. "Keep your man hands away from us, okay? I thought we had an understanding."

Rachel looked up at Quinn with a gentle smile on her face and it only made Quinn more angry. "I'm sorry, Quinn. Finn and I were just discussing how he could widen his range. I'm sorry if I intruded on your territory again." Rachel rose from her seat and motioned towards the chair for Quinn to sit down. "He's all yours."

Rachel climbed up to the top riser and sat down, still smiling. Quinn turned around and scowled up at her. The burning in her wrist was more intense than ever and she wasn't sure if it was because Rachel was so close to her or if it was because Quinn was so angry. Either way it only made her anger spin even further out of control.

Mr. Shue walked into the classroom and clapped his hands as he always did. "Alright class! Did anyone find a song about courage yet?" When no one responded he pulled out a hat. "That's okay. We are going to partner up to try and find some inspiration!"

When Mr. Shue began pulling names out of the hat Quinn felt a bead of sweat drip down her bag. She was praying to every god ever worshipped that she wouldn't be paired with Rachel. "Tina and Mike, Santana and Kurt, Brittany annnnd Artie, Quinn and Mercedes," Quinn let her body relax relieved, "And last but not least... Finn and Rachel."

Quinn stiffened at the last two names. "Mr. Shue, that can't be right...you can't pair them up," Quinn argued.

Mr. Shue put the hat away and shrugged his shoulders, "The hat has spoken, Quinn. I'm sorry." Quinn crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. "Alright everyone get into partners and find a private space. I want to hear some good song choices."

Everyone split up throughout the school, Quinn and Mercedes went to the Spanish room. Mercedes talked about what song she was thinking about choosing and how she needed to show up Rachel because she was the only true diva in the club. Quinn sat and pretended to listen. While the burning had stopped she still couldn't stop thinking about Rachel. She knew that something bad was going to happen with her and Finn alone. She could feel it. She didn't want to admit it but she needed him; now more than ever. She couldn't have him being distracted by Rachel.

"Quinn, what song are you going to sing?" Mercedes interrupted Quinn's thoughts and when the blonde turned to the girl sitting next to her and realized she didn't know the answer to her question, she scowled.

"I don't know yet. I'm waiting for the right song to come along I guess. I don't really need courage anyway. I have nothing to be afraid of." Quinn shrugged and went back to her thoughts. She could hear the hum of Mercedes talking again but she ignored the girl. She didn't have the patience for smalltalk..ever to be honest.

When they finally got back to the choir room Mr. Shue told them to work hard on their songs and be ready to perform by Friday. Quinn would have a song, eventually.

When Quinn finally got Finn away from Rachel they began walking out to the parking lot to Quinn's car, "So how did it go?" Finn asked her as they walked out to the parking lot.

"I still don't have a song but I will by Friday. I'm not worried."

"I know you'll do great, babe," Finn said as he squeezed himself into the small VW. Quinn always found it amusing how Finn didn't fit in her car but tried anyway. His long legs would always get squished by the dashboard and he had to tilt his head a little to the side. He was just too tall for his own good. "Comfy?" She asked starting the car.

"Of course," He smiled back.

As she drove him home, she noticed that he kept scratching his arm. It was quickly turning red, "Finn stop scratching you are going to break through the skin." He stopped for a while but as they pulled up to his house he began to scratch again. "Finn!" Quinn parked the car and reached over to grab Finn's arm. "What did you do?" She looked down at his arm and saw the initials starting to form. 'RB' Her eyes almost popped out of their sockets when she saw the initials.

He was with Rachel and now his sign was coming in. How was this even possible. She had never seen anything like it. "Finn…? What is that?"

He shrugged, "My sign, it just kind of happened. I was kind of hoping they would be your initials but I guess not. We don't have to break up though. Don't worry." He smiled his crooked-dopey smile and Quinn forced a tight smile back.

"I..okay. I'll see you tomorrow?" She had never said it as a question but now she wasn't sure.

"Of course." He gave her one last peck on the cheek and got out of the car.

Quinn drove home that night in a panic. Not only was she not able to be with her mate, but now her boyfriend had Rachel's initials too? How was this even possible? It had to be a mistake. It had to be...she didn't know. She had no answers for what was happening to her. Her life had gone from a scene of perfection to a terrible mess in only two days.

She couldn't imagine how things could get any worse, but she was sure they could. She was positive this chain of unfortunate events was not over. All she knew was she had to keep herself and Finn as far away from Rachel as possible.

Rachel had already stolen her chance at love, at happiness. She was not going to steal the only thing that was going right for her right now. She was not going to let Rachel steal everything Quinn had going for her.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello my lovely readers. I am sorry again for the late post. College is a stressful time. I am so happy to see that people are still reviewing this piece. I really do appreciate it so much. To those of you asking if there is going to be a love triangle, Finchel, all of those cliches you have been subjected to over and over. I do not want to answer that question. But I will say this. I have already thrown enough surprises at you and I don't plan on stopping any time soon. So sit tight and enjoy every curve ball I have to throw. Here is chapter 8 and please enjoy. :)**

**Chapter 8**

Rachel had always thought hate was a very strong word. She knew the weight it carried but she hated Quinn Fabray. Weeks had passed and Quinn still shot her glares every chance she could. It was already enough to know that she was being rejected by her mate, but for her to so aggressively show her hate for Rachel over and over it was almost too much.

The only thing that was keeping Rachel sane was Finn Hudson. He had taken it upon himself to make Rachel feel like she was at home in Lima. Every chance he got he would leave Quinn's side to be with Rachel. However, the more he left Quinn the more Quinn hated Rachel.

They had to sneak around to hang out. Rachel would give Finn singing lessons a couple days a week to cover the fact that they were actually sitting in the choir room talking. They did practice, but they did a lot more talking.

Rachel was lying to herself if she said she didn't like Finn. He was a sweet guy, he made sure every single one of Rachel's needs were attended to as soon a possible. As soon as Rachel received her first slushy Finn made sure that she was guarded. Quinn tried harder every day to attack Rachel, but the harder she tried to bring Rachel down, the harder Finn tried to protect her.

Today's singing lesson had involved no singing at all. "So you wanna go get lunch some time? You've never been to breadstix and it is the best place in town." Finn smiled his crooked smile and Rachel melted.

"Finn, we have been over this..you are dating Quinn. You know I am already a target for her. I'd rather not make myself a bigger threat." Rachel looked down at her hands trying to avoid Finn's gaze but she felt him staring at her. He was always staring at her now. When she looked up, she saw the warm brown eyes she had come to adore. They showered her with warmth. They showed the adoration and affection she had been craving ever since she could remember.

"I know. I just...I think I might break up with, Quinn," Finn stood up and paced the tiles of the choir room. "She is just so mean all the time now. All she ever talks about is you and how much she hates you. It's exhausting listening to it. Especially since…" Finn trailed off and ran his hands through his hair, frustrated with the situation. "Since...Rachel you are my mate...okay? I've been trying to keep it from you but your initials are on my wrist and all I can think about is you now. I want to be with you, not Quinn. Please? I know you feel the same way I can see it. Every time we are together. No more hiding." Finn sat down next to Rachel again and held her hands. "Please tell me you want this as much as I do."

Rachel stared at Finn for a long moment before looking down at her own wrist. The wrist that always became hot when Quinn was around. The wrist with the wrong initials in it. The wrist that had nothing to do with Finn Hudson. "Finn..I…" As Rachel thought about what she was going to say she thought about Quinn. About how much she hated her, how every time she saw the blonde she wanted to scream. She looked back at Finn and saw the boy who loved her, the boy who could give her everything she had ever wanted. The boy that with just one look could take away all the pain Quinn had given her. "Finn this is just a lot to take in. Can I just...take a week to think about it?"

Finn nodded and smiled again. "Of course, Rachel. Take your time." He said and stood from his chair, "But I'm still holding you to that date at breadstixs though." he joked as he walked towards the door. "I gotta go but we'll do this again next week?"

Rachel nodded and watched him walk out. As soon as he was gone she went into a panic. How could she have two mates. She didn't know anything about mates in the first place. Nothing other than what her fathers had told her anyway. They had told her about the Phenyelthylamine, or for short PEA. They had told her about how much they studied it and the effects it had on the body. It was a powerful hormone that took over your body causing an unbreakable bond once the process was complete. They had mostly studied the effects of unbonded PEA and broken PEA, it was deadly to lose or reject your mate.

Her decision was a very large one. Finn or Quinn. If she chose Quinn she would have to deal with the girl's cold shoulder but maybe she would come around. If she chose Finn she might suffer but at least Finn would be okay. She couldn't decide. Either way she would get hurt. It was a lose-lose situation for her. All she really knew was that she needed to talk to Quinn, to find out what was really going on and try to figure something out.

The next day at school Rachel cornered Quinn after glee hoping to have a conversation with the girl. "Quinn we need to talk, I know you told me to stay away from you but this is urgent." Rachel felt her arm heat up to a new level at the close proximity to her mate. She wasn't sure if she liked it or not, but it was better than feeling nothing at all with Finn.

"What do you want hobbit?" Quinn crossed her arms and sneered at Rachel. "Please make it fast. I have a date with Finn after school."

Rachel knew she was lying. Finn didn't even want to be around the girl, why would he take them out on a date, but she let it slide. She didn't care about Quinn's lies. "Finn is my mate as well. He asked me to be with him." Quinn's face went white at the statement. She didn't respond for a long time and Rachel was afraid that Quinn might become angry with her, maybe even hit her. She probably had a jock hiding around the corner with a slushie in hand.

"Well, what did you say?" Quinn's voice was soft, vulnerable, something Rachel had never heard from the girl before.

"I told him I would take a week to think about it. I figured I should speak with you first seeing as we are both mated to each other." Quinn nodded and slowly made her way to one of the chairs on the bottom row of the risers. The blonde stared off into space for a long time, either lost in thought or just in shock, Rachel wasn't sure but she waited. She waited for a long time but Quinn never moved. "Are you okay?" Rachel asked as she moved towards the girl.

"I'm fine. I just really thought that...I guess it's not important now. I know Finn can give you more than I ever could. Just be with him, he'll make you happy. There are plenty of other willing boys that I can find." Quinn stood and walked to her bag.

"So that's it? You're not even going to try to be with who you were destined to? You're just giving up?"

Quinn turned towards Rachel and smirked, "No I'm not giving up. I'm giving you what you deserve and what is best for both of us. Just take this precious gift I am giving you and live your life, okay? You'll never be happy with me. I can't..Just be with Finn okay? It's better that way. Now forget we ever had this conversation." Quinn walked out of the room before Rachel could respond.

The tears came fast and hard and Rachel let herself fall to the floor of the choir room not caring she was bawling in public. The potential love of her life had pushed her away twice without even considering her as an option. Quinn didn't want anything to do with her. She claimed that it was for the best, but Rachel didn't believe that for a minute. Quinn was selfish and clearly didn't consider her own mate a priority.

Rachel still had a week before she had to decide who she wanted to choose. Once she made her decision there was no going back. She couldn't hurt Finn by leaving him and she couldn't risk letting herself get bound to Quinn if the girl was only going to take it all away.

It was such a difficult decision. Every day Rachel had to see them both. Quinn and Finn would sit in homeroom together. They didn't walk together anymore, however they still sat in their regular spots. Rachel would turn in her chair and look at them. Quinn didn't look at Rachel with the same hatred she did before. It was more of just...a pained look. Like Quinn was trying to control herself. It was probably because she knew Finn was going to leave her for Rachel.

When she looked at Finn he would try not to glance at Rachel but he always failed. He would give her a shy smile and sometimes wave. It was sweet and Rachel couldn't help but smile back.

In glee club, Finn sat next to Rachel; he would try to hold her hand but she would always deflect his advances. As the days went by, Finn scooted his chair closer and closer to Rachel's until she could feel the warmth radiating off of him. She would look down at his wrist and see her initials tattooed on his skin. 'RB' She still wasn't sure how she felt about him being her mate, but it was what it was and Rachel would have to make a decision in only a few days.

It would have been easy if she didn't have to look down at Quinn and wish the blonde had fought for her. Had fought for Rachel to choose her instead. She wouldn't have second guessed her decision if Quinn had wanted her. But she didn't.

Every time Rachel saw those hazel eyes look at her with such a pained look, she felt the rejection all over again. She felt Quinn choosing a random boy over her. She felt Quinn tossing her off to someone else because she was too afraid to choose her mate. That pained look is how Rachel knew who she must choose.

On the night before she was supposed to meet Finn and tell her what she wanted, she lay in bed and smiled, knowing her choice was the right one. She knew that it would work out and everything would turn out the way it was supposed to be. She smiled to herself, even though she knew it would be hard, it would be the way destiny had planned for it to be. She began to picture all of the things they would do, all the dates they would go on, moving on to college, then having a family one day. It would be wonderful. She pictured all of these things until she heard something hitting her window. It sounded like rocks. When she went to go check she saw a figure standing in her lawn throwing the pebbles that lined her pathway at her window.

She opened the window and looked down at the figure. "Who are you and why are you here at this hour?" Rachel squinted her eyes trying to see their face in the darkness.

"It's Quinn. Rachel, I think I made a mistake. Can we talk?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello again! I got a little too excited and had to post this chapter early. The cliff hanger was just too much. I love how passionate all of you are about this story. But please, and I will keep reminding you, there will be no cliche, or horrifying outcomes. I really am trying to keep you guys on your toes and guessing at what will come with each new chapter. I am very sorry about this one. It might be a little rough because I changed so much last minute but I think it made it better so no regrets. So with all of that said please enjoy chapter 10. :)**

Chapter 9

When Quinn told Santana that Finn was trying to steal her mate, her best friend was enraged. Santana wasn't fond of Finn in the first place and the fact that he was trying to take Rachel from Quinn made her blood boil. But when Quinn told her that Rachel had asked if Quinn wanted a chance to be her mate rather than Finn, Santana thought she might actually kill the blonde as well. "What the hell you you mean you said Finn could have her..she's yours. You know you want her. Stop being such a pussy and go after her already. She's not going to wait around forever and you know that. Why are you doing this to yourself. To both of you."

Quinn sat on her bed reading a book, attempting to ignore Santana and failing miserably. She lowered the book and glared at the latina, "Because she will be happier with him."

"No she will be happier with you. You two were meant to be together. You are so frustrating. Forget your parents, forget your family altogether. Forget everything and just think about you. What does Quinn want. If Quinn had no consequences for her actions, no status to keep, would she be with her?"

Quinn looked down at her comforter and traced its pattern, trying to block out Santana's question, but she already knew the answer. The answer was yes. It had been yes since she first saw Rachel in the hallway. It would always be yes but her life and her family would always say no. It didn't matter what she wanted. It mattered what her father wanted. "No," Quinn lied and looked up at Santana. "No because I have consequences. I don't live in that world and I never will."

Santana sighed and rose from the bed. "Look, I have sat here and tried to reason with you. I don't think you know what kind of damage this could do to you. You could die if you deny your mate, and she could die as well. If you do this the only person who will benefit from it is Finn. He is the only one that will come out happy, but even then you're still putting Rachel in danger because he isn't her mate. You are. He's going to find out he isn't her mate one day. I don't know why she has two mates but your initials are the one's on her wrist. You are the one who can save her from this mess. Not Finn. Besides if she picks him she is going to get sick and maybe even die. Do this for all of you, take what's yours. I mean really what's worse, dealing with your family for a few more years or suffering for the rest of your life?"

Quinn looked away from Santana not able to deal with the truth. She knew the girl was right. She just didn't know if she could force herself to do the right thing. She didn't know if she could break away from being the perfect girl her parents wanted her to be and become who she was really meant to be all along, whoever that was. It was scary and it was all happening so fast, "I'll think about it, okay?" Quinn turned back to her book ignoring Santana again, "Now go so I can think."

"You better think hard. You said she's going to tell him tomorrow. You don't have much time." Santana shut the door and Quinn sat in silence staring at everything in her room. She was thinking about what she should do. She didn't know if she could confront Rachel again. She didn't even know where she lived. Which is when she realized she didn't know anything about Rachel she had just pushed her away before she had even given the girl a chance to be her mate. She needed to do some research before she made any moves.

The first place she turned to was social media, she tried twitter, facebook, instagram, but the only thing she found was a private facebook page. All Rachel had on there was a variety of professionally posed pictures. Quinn had no idea what to think of that so she shrugged it off and moved to another source. Google. The first thing she searched was Rachel Berry and got an outrageous number of hits. Rachel was everywhere. New York, Colorado, Tennessee, Hawaii and everywhere she went she was making her mark. Performing, charity work, and visiting her Father's hospitals.

Rachel's fathers were famous for their work on biochemical engineering of mating. They were so famous that Rachel _had_ to be much more wealthy than Quinn. Not that it mattered, Quinn didn't care about money. Well maybe a little, or a lot but not in this situation. What she cared about was that Rachel was going to go places, she was going to be more successful than anyone in their entire town.

The next thing Quinn found was Rachel's address and by the time she found that it was already dark out. She looked at the clock and saw that it was already eleven. Quinn debated just waiting until the morning but the more she thought the stronger her urge was to leave the house. Finally Quinn left her house and made her way to Rachel's. She grabbed her phone and a sweatshirt and left her house as quietly as possible. It had only take fifteen minutes to walk there.

All of the lights in the house were out and it didn't seem like anyone was awake so Quinn decided to do the cliche thing. Throw something at her window. She saw pebbles lininng the front walkway and grabbed a handful. She looked at the windows trying to decide which one was Rachel's and decided that the one with the gold stars was probably her best bet. Her first throw had hit the window pane, but she wasn't sure if Rachel would have heard it so she through another on and waited a few seconds. When she didn't see any movement she threw another and another until finally the window opened. "Who are you and why are you here at this hour?" Rachel's voice floated down to a panicked Quinn, struggling to find her voice.

"It's Quinn, Rachel. I think I made a mistake. Can we talk?"

"Did you seriously have to come to my house at midnight just to talk to me?" Rachel asked moving away from the window. "I'll be down in a moment."

Quinn walked towards the front door and waited for Rachel to come down. When she was certain the girl had lied and went back to bed, the door slowly opened. "If you have a slushy please get rid of it now," Rachel said hiding behind the door.

"Rachel, I don't have a slushy okay I came to have a serious talk. I promise." Quinn could tell that Rachel was still skeptical of the situation but the girl stepped aside from the door to let her in.

When Rachel closed the door behind the blonde she was immediately struck with nervousness. Her palms were already clammy and she had only been in the house for two seconds. "So what did you want to talk about?" Rachel crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, raising her brow in expectation.

"Well…" Quinn rubbed the back of her neck trying to find the right words to describe what she wanted to speak to Rachel about. "Us." When the word came out of her mouth Rachel's jaw went slack. Quinn swore she could see the girl's eyes come to life at the word, finally believing that Quinn was serious about her visit.

"What about us?" Rachel pressed.

"I think I made the wrong decision. I mean, I've been thinking and I don't want to see you with Finn or with anyone. I want to see you with me. I really do. It's just...there's one problem."

There seemed to always be a problem with Quinn. Rachel rolled her eyes and dared to ask what it was the girl couldn't deal with this time. "Which is?"

"My family. Mainly my father. He's um..well him. One time I got an A- and he uh...burnt me with a cigar. Another time I almost fell off the top of the pyramid at a cheer tournament and..he," Quinn bit her lip not wanting to speak of the horrible things her father had done to her. "The point is if he finds out that I am with you he will do much much worse. I'd lose my home, my family, everything."

Rachel had greatly underestimated the girl standing in front of her. Earlier she was ready to run into Finn's arms, but knowing this information changed everything. I she chose Finn it would be wrong. They both wanted each other after all.

"So that's why you keep trying to push me away? You're scared of your father?" Quinn nodded her head to confirm Rachel's statement. "I could support you. My fathers would have no problem at all taking you in if something like that were to happen. As long as we have each other what else do we really need?"

Quinn smiled, it warmed her heart to know that Rachel had not been exposed to a world that took her innocence away. She still had the hope in her heart. "I don't think it would be that easy. He would hunt me down. Try to get you. It would be hell for both of us."

Rachel frowned, "Why do you always turn down everything I offer you? If you would just accept me as your mate this would be so much easier. We could fall in love and run away and your father would never find us. We could do anything we wanted. I would give you anything. Everything." Rachel took a step towards Quinn and she didn't feel pain. She felt warmth. It started at her wrist and moved to her chest.

"Rachel...I would love that...I just don't want to put you in danger." Quinn was feeling something she had never felt before. As Rachel stood in her hallway and fought for her, Quinn was feeling...she wasn't actually sure what it was. All she knew was that she had never been more attracted to someone than she was to Rachel right now. She had never seen a more beautiful person, someone who would fight for her love with everything they had. It only made it harder to try and deny Rachel.

"I don't care about danger. I care about keeping you safe and if your father is a threat to your saftey than I want to fix that."

"You can't fix it. No one can. My father is crazy and there is no way that you or your fathers or anyone is ever going to get rid of him. He will stop at nothing to stop the _evil_ that same sex mates bring to this world. Well in his eyes. When he found out Santana and Brittany were mates he nearly got them kicked out of the school. The only reason they are still enrolled in Mckinley is because Sue Sylvester is just as terrifying as my father."

Rachel didn't know what to say she didn't know how to respond to Quinn's life. She was being chained down by a man who had no right to her other than the fact that he was her biological father. But just because Quinn felt she didn't have any options didn't mean that there wasn't a way the two girls could make this work. "Okay, I know you're scared. I have to admit, I am a bit scared of this situation as well but I am your mate and even though we have hit such a difficult obstacle doesn't mean we can't do this. We are going to be fighting people who don't accept us our entire lives. They may not be as severe as your father but we will never get away from the hatred in our lives. It's not right and it's not fair but it is the fate we have been handed. We wouldn't be going through it if we couldn't handle it. I really believe we can make this work. We are both strong, beautiful, independent women. You are my mate and I am not going to stand here and let your father run your life. I am going to love and protect you no matter how hard or dangerous it becomes."

Quinn knew that she couldn't say no to Rachel after that speech. The brunette was passionate about them making it and judging by the look in her eyes she wasn't going to give up on this. There was no way she could turn the girl down, even if she wanted to. "Okay what if we try. But we don't tell anyone. We could just be a secret until we figure out a plan that will definitely work. Just anything I can't bear to see you with Finn." Quinn knew it was a long shot. Who would want to be a dirty little secret? But she was running out of options.

She watched the gears turn in Rachel's head. When the girl looked up at her with such a torn look in her eyes she thought she was going to s no and her heart dropped into her feet. "If it were anyone else...I would walk away right this second. But, because you are my mate and we are in such a hard situation I will take you up on that. We can be a secret."

The relief that washed over Quinn in that moment was overwhelming, her heart jumped from her feet to her throat in two seconds flat. "You're serious? We can really do this?" Rachel nodded her head in conformation and a smile spread across Quinn's face that nearly broke her cheeks.

"However…" There is always a catch...Quinn thought to herself. "This doesn't mean that we are instantly dating. I still fully expect for you to court me like a gentleman...woman. You know what I mean. We aren't official, we have just agreed to an arrangement. Is that clear?"

Quinn nodded but had to resist from rolling her eyes, "So...am I supposed to do that tomorrow or…" Quinn wasn't sure how this was supposed to work. She had never asked someone to be with her, and she had never had to work this hard to be with anyone before. Usually people just threw themselves at her and she let them follow her around until they got bored.

"No. You need to get to know me, Quinn. It needs to be special and it needs to be romantic. You can't just walk up to me and ask me to be your girlfriend."

Quinn bit her lip nervously, she felt like she was being scolded and for what? Not knowing how to ask someone out? She tried to think of anything she could do for the girl, but she didn't know her, and she wasn't even sure if she had a romantic bone in her body. "Well...can I ask you a small question now then?" Quinn's voice was timid, smaller than it had ever been in her life. This was the first time she had ever spoken to Rachel for longer than a few minutes. She had to admit she was a bit intimidated by her.

"Yes, you may." Rachel's face was stoic, Quinn could see no emotion whatsoever.

"Um.." Quinn avoided Rachel's stare feeling stupid for even having to ask the question. "Can I have your number?" There was a moment of awkward silence and then a burst of laughter. Rachel was laughing at her. "What's so funny? It was a serious question!" Quinn defended herself but Rachel didn't hear her. She was too busy laughing.

Rachel bit her lip trying to stop her laughter but there was no use. "I'm sorry, really I am, but I was expecting a much more serious question than that. Yes of course you can have it. I can put it in your phone now if you'd like."

Quinn pulled her phone out of her sweatshirt pocket and handed it to Rachel. The girl was smiling like an idiot when she handed the phone back to her. "What is so funny?" Quinn asked, confused. Rachel directed her eyes back down at the screen and began to giggle. "Ray Berry, King of the Q. Rachel what the heck is this? You are not the king of me!"

"No, but I will be your Queen. Get used to it." Rachel folded her hands over her chest and dare Quinn to argue, but the blonde didn't say a word. "Great. Now, would you like to come upstairs? I have a guest room you can stay in. It's pretty late. You shouldn't walk home all alone."

"No, I should go. If my father finds out that I snuck out this will be the last time you will ever see me. Thanks anyway, Ray." Rachel giggled and Quinn's heart swelled with joy. "I'll text you though okay? We'll hang out soon. So I can properly ask you out, I guess…"

Rachel quirked an eyebrow. "You guess..?"

"No..I mean I know. So I can ask you to be my girlfriend in a romantic way." Quinn quickly added.

"Good. You want a ride home?" Rachel began to pick up the keys off the front table.

"No. The headlights might wake my dad...that's a lie, they wouldn't but I'm paranoid they would."

"I'll drop you off a block from home?" Rachel offered. She didn't want Quinn walking home alone. She knew that Lima was a pretty safe area but she still didn't like the idea of a hot, blonde, girl walking all alone in the dead of night.

Quinn bit her lip debating the offer but eventually gave in. "Okay. But a whole block away, okay?"

"You got it. Just tell me where to drop you off. But I'm following you to your door. I will just feel better watching you walk in. Is that okay?" Rachel knew that she was being overbearing and pushy but she couldn't help it, she was controlling by nature. She needed things a certain way and in this case she needed to know that Quinn would be safe.

"Okay. I guess that's okay." Quinn could feel the nerves building back up, but this time they were caused by her father and not the brunette standing in front of her. She was terrified something was going to go wrong, but she didn't want to deny Rachel of what she wanted either.

The two girls walked out to Rachel's garage few minutes later. Quinn knew she shouldn't be surprised at the expensive sports cars sitting in the garage, but she was. The garage was the size of her entire first floor of her own house and the cars were probably worth more than the entire block of houses combined. When Rachel walked over to her Bently she was still shocked. It was a navy blue car, low to the ground, only two doors and shiny as all hell. It reeked of wealth. Quinn couldn't help but stare and when Rachel noticed she frowned. "Please don't."

Quinn snapped out of her daze and looked to the girl standing at the drivers side. "I'm not...I don't care about your money. I promise. I mean it's nice. It's just not what I'm here for. I'm here for you. Not the money."

"Rachel smiled and walked around to the passenger side door. "Good, then get in so I can take you home." Quinn smirked and shook her head before walking around the car to sit down. Rachel closed the door and got in on the passenger side. The car still smelled like it was knew ad Quinn thought she might pass out from the fumes. "It was a gift from my dads. They like to buy me things because they are never home. World renown surgeons don't have much time for their adolescent daughters. I don't really even drive it. I never have anywhere to go."

"Well...I'll try to think of something to fix that then." Quinn smiled over at Rachel and felt herself falling again. She wasn't sure she would ever stop falling. She had been in the girls presence for an hour and the entire time she was pretty sure she had never stopped falling for her.

"I'd like that. Now, let's get you home." Rachel started the car and backed out of the driveway. Quinn wanted to put her hand over Rachel's because it was sitting on the gear shift the whole time it was just screaming at her to hold it, but she was too nervous to move.

Rachel had convinced Quinn to let her drive her to the end of her street so she could see the girl walk in the house, the blonde had no chance at denying Rachel of what she wanted. So Quinn got out at the intersection of Maple Drive and Bridge Street. Quinn stood under the streetlight for a moment looking at the navy Bently before her. There was no way anyone on this street would believe that was a sixteen year old girl. She felt a little better knowing that.

Quinn began to walk down the street but Rachel stayed where she was. Finally when Quinn had gotten halfway down the street Rachel began to creep behind her. When Quinn got to her front door Rachel slowed. Quinn opened her door and looked back at the girl, Rachel had rolled down the window to watch Quinn, the brunette waved and smiled as Quinn walked into the house. When she closed the door behind her she heard the car speed off. She leaned back against the front door and smiled. "Bye, Ray."


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello my lovely readers! I am so very sorry for last weeks typos. There were too many for my liking and probably yours as well. I have been working with my beta to work on getting all of the typos out. If there are still a few I am sorry again. Now, I realize that there will be many questions and many things left unanswered. That is my intention and I am again sorry for the answers you will be waiting for. But again, you will soon find out why all of these things are happening. And again. I love how much you guys are reading and reviewing and how passionate some of you are. The anger towards Finchel is great. Anyway as always enjoy :)**

Chapter 10

When Rachel got into bed that night she found herself staring at the ceiling again. She didn't think about Finn, or how settling for him would be okay; she thought about Quinn and how she would be able to live with her soulmate forever. She thought about the heat that was still radiating off her wrist. Unlike the first few times she touched it it felt warm and soft rather than burning her fingertips.

She turned on her side to face the window, still able to see the small marks where the pebbles had hit the window, and it made her laugh to herself. As little as Quinn really knew about relationships, she must have known that throwing pebbles was the most cliche way to get a love interests attention. Right? Probably not. Quinn knew nothing.

Rachel's thoughts were interrupted by a loud buzz on her night stand. She picked up her phone and saw a message from an unknown number, 'This is Quinn. Goodnight, Ray. I can't wait to see you tomorrow :) -Q' Rachel bit her lip trying not to smile, even though she knew Quinn couldn't see her. She saved the contact and quickly typed out a quick message before putting her phone on silent and turning back over towards the window. 'Goodnight, Quinn. I can't wait to see you tomorrow either. -R'

She hoped tomorrow would be perfect. She knew that she and Quinn couldn't hold hands or kiss each other before they separated for class, but hopefully they could have heated make-out sessions under the bleachers or something. Not quite romantic, but better than nothing.

Rachel closed her eyes willing the next day to come. She was too excited to fall asleep, but she had to. Rachel thought about Quinn, she tried to see the blonde's face behind her eyelids as she lie in her bed. The first thing she saw was her eyes, the gold and green specks freckling her hazel eyes, and the perfect curve of her nose. She saw her blonde hair and her high cheekbones and finally as she drifted off to sleep she saw her smile.

When Rachel woke up the next morning, it took her a moment to remember the events that transpired the night before. At first she thought she had just dreamt it all. Maybe she ate something weird and had a vivid dream, but then she checked the time on her phone and saw a message from Quinn. 'Good morning, Ray. I'm sorry for texting you so early but I have Cheerios practice at five am, every day. Anyway good morning handsome king. Can't wait to see you in...three hours.. :) -Q' Rachel laughed out loud. Quinn was too adorable for words. She never expected an ice queen could turn out to be as cute as she was.

Rachel turned the sound back up on her phone and then responded to Quinn. She walked to her closet and turned on the light. The house had come with a walk-in closet, so naturally Rachel chose that room. Her dads were never here anyway. She was surprised Quinn hadn't gawked at her house yesterday considering the way the girl stared at her car. The Berry residence wasn't exactly a house, it was more like three lots turned into one large work facility that just happened to include many living quarters as well, so technically a mansion. Her fathers made one everywhere they resided for more than three years. They found a street with a few vacant lots in a row and built a new 'house'. One section of the mansion was for teaching their methods, another was for entertaining and the last section was for living in. With the amount of space they had, Rachel basically had a house of her own even when her dads were home.

Her closet was probably about the size of three of her classmates rooms, but she didn't like to brag. She let everyone think she had a closet-sized room. Many of the Mckinley high students did think she was poor. She had heard some girls talking about her in her home ec class. They were discussing her sweater and how atrocious it was. The girls also said, "The fact that she matches her sweaters to her socks is so sad. Where does she even get them from? Family Dollar?" There were two problems with the girls' insult. People who were too poor to afford proper clothing would not match their socks, they would focus on feeding themselves and their loved ones, and the second, the Family Dollar only sold knock-off knee socks that ironically only went up to the middle of one's shins.

Rachel picked out a blue reindeer sweater, a red and blue plaid skirt, and a pair of blue knee highs to wear to school. She topped it all off with a pair of black loafers and a red headband to go along with it. She brought her clothes back into her room and checked the clock on her wall. '6:35' Only an hour and twenty five minutes before she got to see Quinn again. She smiled brightly and walked across the hallway to her workout room. She hopped on her elliptical, did some strength training, and stretched. By the time she was done with all of that, it was already seven-ten. Rachel hopped in the shower, and by the time she was done with that, it was seven-thirty-five. She stood in front of her mirror now wearing the clothes she had picked out and straightened her hair. The last thing she did was put her headband on.

She walked downstairs to the kitchen, where she was greeted by one of the many housekeepers her fathers had hired to keep the house looking tidy for the many people who came and went. "Good morning Miss Berry. I made your shake for you," the man said. Jerry was Rachel's favorite housekeeper. Mostly because he was young and he sang with her whenever she asked him to. He also made her favorite foods, brewed her coffee every morning and blended a protein shake. But those were all just added perks to his perfection. "You really didn't have to do that. And it's, Rachel, you know that. Miss Berry is saved for all of those interviewers on the red carpet," Rachel joked, "But thank you so much." She grabbed the glass off the counter and began to suck it down trying to get through it as quickly as possible. She wanted to get to homeroom before Quinn. She usually was, but she just wanted to be sure.

"What's the rush, Miss Berry?" Jerry asked, amused.

Rachel took a break from her shake to answer him. "I have to beat Quinn to homeroom today." Rachel went back to sucking down her shake and when the straw finally started to gurgle from lack of shake to suck up, she slammed the glass on the counter, grabbed her thermos of coffee, and made a dash for her car. "Who's, Quinn?" Jerry called after her.

"My mate!" Rachel called back running out into the garage; she knew Jerry would be looking for details so, she popped her head back through the doorway. "I'll tell you all about it later. Promise." Jerry simply laughed and told her to have a good day.

As Rachel drove to school, she had to be cautious not to speed, she was prone to a lead foot when she was excited. She kept looking down at the clock in her car - it seemed like the minutes were going by so slowly. Every time she looked down, only a minute had passed; sometimes it was still the same time.

She stopped at the light across from Mckinley and huffed with frustration. This entire morning had felt like she was so close yet so far from Quinn. She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, waiting for the light to change. When it finally did, she hit the pedal so fast her tires squealed against the pavement. She turned into the lot and parked in the first spot she could find, not caring how far it was from the entrance.

Rachel walked as quickly as she could from her car to her locker. She hurriedly grabbed her things for her first two classes and made a run for homeroom. She made it to the room at eight-o'-seven, which was ten minutes earlier than she usually arrived to class. When she walked through the door she was not expecting to see Quinn sitting in her seat. The blonde was sitting with her legs crossed and her hands folded on top of the desk. "Hey, Ray," she said as Rachel stood stunned at the front of the room.

Rachel's became a ball of mush at the realization that Quinn had given her a nickname already. She was Quinn's Ray. "Hey..what are you doing here so early? Don't you still have practice?" Quinn shook her head and rose from the desk.

"No, practice actually ends at seven-thirty, I just took a short shower today so I could surprise you. Did I do a good job?" Rachel nodded her head in approval. "Well good, because I have another surprise for you. But..you can't flaunt it or anything okay?"

Rachel tried not to be upset about having to hide something that Quinn gave her, because she knew it was for the best. "I will guard it with my life. I promise."

Quinn laughed and walked back to the desk. "It's not that serious." She pulled out a jacket from her bag. "This is a special jacket that only the head cheerio gets. It's basically only for bragging rights, but it's one of my favorite possessions. My name is embroidered in the side of the right sleeve and 'Head Cheerio' is on the back. I take a lot of pride in it, but I really want you to have it. I think it's appropriate since I can't let you wear my letterman's jacket. You can at least wear it around your house or something." Quinn held out the jacket for Rachel to take and as soon as the soft fabric touched her fingers Rachel felt the tears begin to sting at her eyes.

"Quinn…." Rachel choked out. "I..thank you." Rachel held the jacket to her chest for a moment, trying to get over how kind the blonde's gesture was. "This is so perfect. I'm going to cherish this forever." Quinn smiled and held her hands together behind her back, she looked down at the ground and bit her lip as a light tint of pink took over her cheeks. "Quinn?" Rachel asked ducking her head down to meet Quinn's eyes, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Quinn cleared her throat, "I just...I wasn't expecting you to actually like it. It's just a stupid jacket. I couldn't think about anything else to do."

Rachel chuckled to herself. "Well it's your stupid jacket that my stupid shoulders get to wear." Quinn laughed and Rachel swore she would never get that sound out of her ears. "Seriously, thank you so much, this means the world to me." Rachel took a step forward and was about to lean in to kiss Quinn on the cheek when she heard a familiar voice.

"Alright, Rachel. It's been a week. Have you decided?" Finn asked, "What are you doing with Quinn's jacket?"

Rachel quickly handed the jacket back over to Quinn. "She was just showing me the beautiful embroidering on the sleeves. I wanted to get one of my favorite sweaters reembroidered. You know how I love those, Finn." Rachel took a step towards the boy and placed a hand on his arm. "I have, but I really think this is a conversation we need to have in private, okay? Let's meet up for lunch." Finn smiled brightly and nodded.

"Yeah! Okay, sounds good, Rach. Can't wait." He took his normal seat next to Rachel and sorted through his backpack, eventually pulling out his phone and playing a game. When Rachel decided that he was fully distracted, she pulled out her phone from her own backpack and texted Quinn. 'I'm so sorry. That was so rude of me. -R'

She heard a ding from behind her and a few moments later her phone vibrated. 'It's okay, Ray, I know. This is going to suck for a long time, but it'll be worth it. I promise. -Q' Rachel smiled down at the text before turning around to see Quinn staring down at her phone waiting for a response. She quickly turned back around and responded. 'I still feel bad though. And I want my jacket back. :( -R'

Quinn quietly chuckled at Rachel's dramatics. 'You'll get it back after school -Q'

'I better. ;) -R'

Their homeroom teacher cleared his throat to take attendance and the girls quickly put their phones away. Homeroom went by slowly; Finn kept looking at Rachel and Quinn kept staring at Finn staring at Rachel. It was very awkward and when the bell rang, Quinn all but ran out of the room. Thankfully Finn was used to her antics by now and didn't give it a second thought.

For the first four periods of the day, Rachel checked her phone every moment she could, checking for a text from Quinn. Almost every time she looked she had one. 'Ray...I'm dying in this class. I just want to sit in homeroom and stare at the back of your beautiful head. -Q'

'There are Cheerios uniforms everywhere and all I see is you in them. But when I blink it's never you. -R'

The text that knocked Rachel off her feet though was the text she received as she was walking towards the cafeteria to speak with Finn. It was longer than all the others but most of all it was serious and filled with sadness. 'Rachel. I know you're going to speak with Finn now. I just want you to remember that, yes, he is your other mate, somehow. But I promise you that he will never be able to love you the way that I will someday. We are true mates and I will try and make every single day count. I know I will love you more and more as each day passes and I'm not perfect, but I'll try to be perfect for you. I just..please don't choose Finn. I promise I'll be better. I'm going to prove to you that fate really did chose the right one for you. Me. -Q'

Rachel sat at her lunch table and stared at the text reading it over and over again until she thought she might be able to recite it word for word. She was forced to put the text away when Finn approached the table with a tray in hand. "Hey Rach! You wanted to talk?"

He sounded excited, which made Rachel dread this conversation even more.

"Yeah. So...I have made a decision." Finn perked up and Rachel continued. "I can't be with you Finn. I'm sorry I made you wait all this time just to hear a no."

Finn put down his fork and folded his hands behind his tray. His face became very stoic but she could see the disappointment in his eyes. "It's okay. We are young and that is a very big commitment. I will wait for you until you are ready. I won't imprint on anyone until you are ready for me. I promise." Rachel could hear the determination he had to follow through on the promise he was making her,but she couldn't hold him to that. She wasn't his mate and she had no right to make him believe he had a chance.

"That's very sweet, Finn, but you can be free. You can do what you please. Don't wait for me. I don't want you to be weighed down just because of this. Live your life the way you want to. Don't compromise for anyone. Not even me."

Rachel knew what imprinting was. She had finally gotten a moment to ask her dads about the medical processes and tendencies of mates. Being doctors, they had told her much more than she'd originally wanted to know. She was aware of everything that was happening to her at this very moment. The chemical 'PEA' was slowly leaking into her system causing all of the warm fuzzy feelings inside of her every time she saw Quinn.

There were also stages of imprinting. The first stage was the initial contact which initiated the tattooing of the signs. Rachel had never seen her signs before, she had gotten them when she had first bumped into Quinn in the hallway.

The second is acceptance, which is when the pain or negative reaction from the sign stops. Rachel thought it was quite strange that such a pleasant chemical could do so much harm, but the negative reactions were to ensure that people didn't deny their mate. They were supposed to accept the fact that they were soul mates and having to face some unpleasant symptoms was definitely motivation to give their mate a chance.

There were numerous stages in the middle; not specific events, but stages, the initial feelings of love, passion,being in love, etc. These stages varied from person to person. Some lasted longer or shorter than others. However, the very last stage was imprinting. Imprinting was the final stage because it sealed your bond to the other person. There was a difference between sex and imprinting, which was a very confusing concept to Rachel. Sex was contact of the gentials with another person, however imprinting was the movement of love between two people.

Sex was fast and it felt good but had no emotional meaning whatsoever. Imprinting on the other hand was exciting and had many more aspects to it. In some cases the imprint was so profound that you could see the PEA chemicals floating through the air. There would be light reflecting off the particles of the drug on the body of the individuals imprinting and in the air around them. There was also a very obvious smell that would follow them around for a few days. For each person it was different, but a pleasant aroma would linger around them, the length of that symptom was also varied by the individual.

Naturally when Finn said he wouldn't imprint Rachel, knew he wouldn't, because he probably couldn't. Imprinting was only possible with a mate, and no one else. Everyone else was just a sexual encounter with a maximum of thirty seconds of mild PEA reactions. Rachel didn't care what Finn did with his life. All she cared about now was Quinn.

"Do you think we can still be friends though?" Finn asked, Rachel wasn't opposed to a friendly relationship with the boy but she feared for his health when he found out that Rachel was actually his mate. The problem with phenylethylamine (PEA) was that it starts leaking into your system when you are a child. Your body becomes addicted to it because of the constant flow, and when you began to imprint, the flow increased. If that imprint becomes interrupted your source of PEA stops completely.

There are people who have figured out how to make it into a drug because they have lost their mate or because their mate has died. They often die of PEA overdose or withdrawal. Death can occur within months sometimes weeks if it's bad enough, which is why Rachel was so worried about Finn.

"Of course, Finn we can still be friends. Just no funny business, okay?"

The boy nodded eagerly, "Of course. Don't worry." He picked up his tray and rose from the table. "I should get back to the guys, but thanks for being honest with me, Rach."

That statement dug into her so deep she could literally feel the pain of the knife in her heart. She didn't lie to Finn, but she also hadn't told him the whole truth. In this case it really was for his own good. She tried not to let it weigh on her mind too much, but she knew it would. She rose from the table and threw out her tray, suddenly not hungry anymore. She turned to see Quinn sitting with the two Cheerios who seemed to always be within an arms reach of the blonde, and then looked over at the tall awkward boy sitting with the football team laughing about the two straws sticking out of his nose.

Rachel had a difficult road ahead of her; she had to find a way to be with Quinn, yet still keep Finn from getting seriously hurt. She turned on her heel and walked out of the cafeteria with only one word slipping out of her mouth. "Shit…."


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello my lovely readers! I know I have not been too consistent on my posting days. It's midterm and I have been very busy but I hopped out of bed to post this for you guys. Thank you all for your wonderful comments again. It really does make my writing better and it motivates me to post everything on time and keep writing more and more chapters. As for a posting schedule I would say you can expect the chapter to be posted early in the week. They will never be put up after Wednesday. Always Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday at the latest. Please read and review. I'd really loved to know what you guys like, what you don't like and maybe what you'd like to see in the future. I still don't own anything and as always enjoy :)**

Chapter 11

It honestly pained Quinn to go all day without talking to Rachel again. She couldn't even see the girl because she was too busy with Finn. That oaf. She couldn't even remember why she dated him. In fact, she couldn't even understand why her parents wanted her to imprint on him so badly. They didn't even have the right signs for each other. She had never really thought about their matching signs, even before his showed up. Finn had always been a late bloomer, she figured he would get his letters late as well.

Quinn had gotten her sign in third grade. She had come down with a bad case of pneumonia and had to be flown out to Indiana to be treated for it. When she came back, she had her sign. She hadn't really thought anything of it because she had no idea what it meant at the time and her parents never noticed because they were, and still are, drunken jack asses who only focused on their perfect daughter frannie.

It wasn't fair that everyone got their signs at different parts of their lives. It also wasn't fair that they wouldn't know if they were going to have the same sign as their current partner or not. All Quinn knew was that she was glad she had finally found the girl with her initials on her wrist.

When the final bell rang at the end of the day, Quinn pulled out her phone and texted Rachel. 'Where can I give you back the jacket?' -Q' It didn't take long for a response to come. 'My house. I'll meet you there. -R'

Quinn looked down at her phone confused. 'Are you going to be home when I get there? -Q' The phone lit up with a response only a few seconds later. 'Yes, of course, don't worry. -R'

Quinn stared down at the text, questioning whether or not she should actually go to the house without Rachel to accompany her. She decided it was best to go. She needed to learn how to trust Rachel and this would be a good first step. If Rachel said don't worry, she wouldn't.

Quinn got into her car and drove to Rachel's house. She passed it twice mistaking it for a new apartment complex until she realized there was a mailbox that said 'Berry' in the first driveway. Quinn had not realized how big the house was when she snuck over previous night. She thought it was big before but now she realized exactly how much she underestimated the house.

Quinn was intimidated by the size and wanted to stay in her car until Rachel got home, so she texted Rachel to let her know that she was going to wait for her. She was greeted with a text that read. 'Don't be afraid, Quinn. Jerry will be there. I told him you were coming. -R' Quinn scoffed and sent a response. 'Who is Jerry and why should I trust him? -Q' A few seconds later she was given and answer. 'Jerry is my favorite butler in the house, now go inside. I expect to see your car empty by the time I get there. -R' Quinn sighed, knowing that she would not win this fight. It had not even been twenty four hours and Rachel already wore the pants.

The blonde got out of her car and walked up the driveway, dreading every step. She rang the doorbell and waited for someone to answer the door. When it finally opened, she was greeted by a tall slender man wearing sweat pants and an apron. He smiled brightly and held out his hand for Quinn to shake. "Hi! I'm Jerry. You must be Miss Fabray. Miss Rachel told me you would be arriving. Come in please. I'm just fixing up some snacks for you girls."

Jerry stepped aside and Quinn took a hesitant step into the house. "It's nice to meet you as well, Jerry. But...uh...why aren't you wearing a shirt… Not to be rude or anything. It's just. I've never seen a butler anywhere but on TV and they are always British and wearing suits."

Jerry laughed and waved off her statement. "There are butlers who like to do that. I live here in the house though, so the Berrys let me wear what I want. They don't mind seeing a twenty-two year old guy shirtless either if you know what I mean." Jerry chuckled to himself as he walked down the hallway.

Quinn sat with Jerry for a good ten minutes, but it only took seconds for her to understand why Jerry was Rachel's favorite butler. One: He never left. Two: He was about as animated as she was. Three: He was an even bigger diva than the brunette. Jerry was also very feminine, at least he seemed to be with the way he was only picking up each slice of tomato with his thumb and forefinger as if the fruit might contaminate him.

Jerry was going on about some drama he had with the older butlers who worked in the house when Quinn heard the door slam. A few minutes later, Rachel walked into the kitchen. "Hey, you two." Rachel put down her backpack and sat on a stool in front of the island. "So I bet you are wondering why I asked you to come here, and why I was late to my own house," Rachel said as she spun herself on the stool.

Quinn smiled and shook her head, "No actually I'm wondering how you managed to get a house of this size in Lima. Your kitchen is literally the size of my living room." Quinn motioned towards the room and Rachel turned to look.

"I don't know. My dads like to make houses that are also training facilities as well as business centers so they can have more family time with their hectic schedules. It's good for their business, but I don't want to talk about my dads, or my house, or my money. I want to tell you why you are here."

Rachel rose from her stool and walked around the island until she got to Quinn; she folded her hands in front of her body and leaned forward until her lips gently pressed against Quinn's cheek. Quinn felt her entire body go limp when Rachel's lips touched her skin. Rachel's lips sent a wave of warmth through Quinn's entire body and wide grin spread across Rachel' face. "What was that for?" Quinn asked touching her cheek where Rachel's lips had just resided.

"I was going to do that before Finn interrupted us. I assure you I didn't ask you to come here just to kiss you on the cheek. I asked you to come here because I want to ask you to go on a date with me." Rachel waited for a response , but Quinn didn't know what to say. She wanted to say yes but that would risk getting seen in public, getting their secret out and eventually finding it's way to her father.

"Rachel...I..you know we can't do that...I would love to, honestly, but I can't risk that.." When Rachel smiled at Quinn's response, the blonde thought the brunette might actually be going crazy.

"I would never put you in jeopardy that way. I want to take you on a date here. In my house. We can keep our secret, but still do nice things. It's perfect, and you can get to know me. What do you say?" Rachel asked hopefully.

"I say yes," Quinn answered more quickly than she felt was appropriate, but she didn't care. She got to go on a date before she figured out how to ask Rachel to officially be with her. She would take what she could get.

Rachel laughed at how eager Quinn was and led her over to the tray that Jerry was putting food on. "Alright. Then let this officially be the beginning of our first date. What better way to start with than food? The first thing you need to know is that I am a vegan. No meat, dairy, fish, or any animal product is ever to be used on my skin or be ingested myself and Jerry is the best vegan cook I have ever met. I asked him to make my favorite meal while I was at school." Rachel picked up what appeared to be some sort of wrap and took a bite, "It's official name is the smokey tempeh avocado wrap, but i just call it the avi. Try some." Rachel handed a wrap to Quinn and went back to her own food.

Quinn looked down at the food that was just handed to her and questioned it. What was this foreign food Rachel had just handed her. It smelled like a mixture between a deli sandwich and a salad. She wasn't sure if those those two things were something she would mix before they got to her stomach. It looked like it would taste alright, but Quinn was always skeptical of vegan food, and vegans. They were always preaching about how evil people who ate meat were and how everyone would be happier and healthier if they switched. "If I eat this...are you going to force to become a vegan too?"

Rachel almost choked on her food trying not to laugh at Quinn's question. "No, I would never force you to do anything. I'm just trying to introduce you to things I enjoy. Please, try it. You don't have to take another bite if you don't like it." Quinn looked down at the wrap and shrugged her shoulders. She brought it to her mouth and took a small bite, taking a few seconds to decide if it was good or not.

"This is not what I was expecting at all. This is pretty good," Quinn said, surprised at the discovery. Rachel smiled and shoved the rest of her wrap into her mouth before grabbing another. She swallowed the mouthful of food and spoke again, "The second thing you need to know is food is the key to my heart. I love eating almost as much as I love performing."

Quinn nodded, trying to soak up as much of this valuable information as possible, "I will keep that in mind when you get angry with me." The blonde took another bite of her wrap and looked down at Rachel, "How many things do you have planned for this date tonight?"

Rachel could see the panic in Quinn's eyes and she knew it was because of her father. "Don't worry, you'll be home before seven. I promise. I have just a few things planned for tonight. But I don't want to ruin it so finish your wrap so we can get going."

Quinn was still concerned about getting home without her father suspecting anything but she would try to have fun with Rachel anyway. She shoved the rest of her wrap in her mouth and mumbled 'done' with her mouth completely full which in turn caused Rachel to giggle uncontrollably.

Rachel led her down the longest hallway she had ever walked through before they finally came to an actual room. It seemed that every portion in the house had a different theme. The kitchen was completely platinum except for the floor and countertops. All of the hallways, at least it seemed to Quinn, had black tile floors with white walls. At the end of this particular hallway were a pair of two large doors. "This room is very special to me. I mean...it's where I spend most of my days here when I am alone." Rachel swung one of the doors open and revealed a studio. "This is where I practice. I record everything I sing and critique it, even though I do have perfect pitch, there's always something I can improve."

Quinn took a step into the room and thought she might have walked into a whole other world and not just a different room. "How is this even real?" Quinn whispered to herself. The walls were lined with every different type of guitar you could imagine, and there was an electric keyboard along with a grand piano sitting in the middle of the room. A small section was taken up by a sound booth with a sound panel lining the glass window of the space. There were also other instruments: wind instruments, string instruments, drums, everything.

"It's….I ..I'm sorry if this is overwhelming. We can just stick to the normal kind of dates if you want. Like dinner and a movie, or something." Rachel's voice was so small she sounded like a child who had just been scolded.

"No, Rachel, this is amazing. I just...My family is the wealthiest in Lima and I thought I had seen a lot of stuff. I get everything I want without question but this...this is incredible. It's like living in a dream. You literally have everything."

"I do….but everything really does feel like nothing unless you have someone to share it with. Which is why I'm showing you this room. It's expensive and showy, I know, but it's my favorite. I know you already know that I love to sing, but my dream is to be on Broadway one day. I come home every day and, after doing my homework of course, I come in here and practice for hours. I try to replicate my idols styles and techniques. Specifically Barbra Streisand. I've been working on 'My Man' from Funny Girl for about six years now and I still can't sing it as well as her."

Quinn listened intently as she walked further into the room. "I'm sorry, who?" Quinn asked finally being snapping back into reality. "I don't know who that is, or what that is…"

Rachel's face went blank, and she stared at Quinn for a long moment, "You don't know who Barbra is…?"

Quinn took a step back at the seriousness of the question; if looks could kill she would be dead. "No, I'm sorry. Lima isn't a very cultured town."

Rachel grabbed Quinn's hand and dragged her out of the room, "Change of plans. We cannot continue in this relationship if you do not know what Funny Girl is and especially not if you don't know who Barbra is." Rachel dragged Quinn down the long hallway and across the main hall to what seemed to be another endless hallway on the other side. The girls came to another pair of large doors when Rachel finally stopped. "Quinn, we will frequent this room often and it will be a learning experience for you. This is the theater in our house. Yes we have a theater.." Rachel said when she saw Quinn gaping again, "You will have to get used to my stuff. Anyway. We are going to watch Funny Girl. So please," Rachel swung one of the doors open to reveal a dimly lit room with lines of red velvet chairs, "go take a seat."

Quinn walked into the dark room and took a seat in the back row, a few seconds later, a bright light shone on the far wall and overture began to play. Rachel came bounding down the aisle and plopped down next to Quinn. "Ready?!" Rachel's excitement brought a smile to Quinn's face, and when Rachel turned to watch the movie, the blonde kept her eyes on the other girl for a moment longer, memorizing the way the light reflected off her glossy eyes and the small smiled that never seemed to leave her lips.

Quinn smiled to herself and turned to watch the movie. She tried not to look over at Rachel too much but every time another song came on, she heard Rachel singing softly to herself. Quinn tried to hide her amusement but a giggle slipped out. Rachel glared at the blonde but eventually turned back to the movie and continued to sing.

Quinn decided she had seen every emotion Rachel Berry had to offer by the end of Funny Girl, but she was proven wrong with the ending ballad. Rachel sang every word of the song as she had throughout the movie, but this time it was different. This time Quinn could tell that Rachel felt the song, she was singing from her heart, even if her voice was small she could tell the girl was trying hard to hold back. A single tear rolled down the brunette's face but they were quickly wiped away. As soon as the musical was over Rachel turned to Quinn expectantly. "So….? Please tell me you loved it because I will not accept any less of an answer."

"I enjoyed it. I'm not sure if i can share your love for Barbra yet, only because I don't quite understand everything about her or this," Quinn motioned to the room, "but one day I assure you I will understand and I will share your passion. Your passions are mine as well."

Rachel smiled and bit her bottom lip. "And you were gushing about how perfect I was for you…"

Quinn blushed and ducked her head, "We're mates, we are supposed to be perfect."

Rachel smiled and rose from her seat. "Unfortunately this date must come to an end because Barbra has taken up two hours of our time and it is already six thirty. You need to get home."

Quinn felt the frown take over her face but rose from her seat as well. "I…" Quinn started but decided not to continue the sentence. "I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"Of course Quinn. You'll see me every day," Rachel reassured the blonde.

The two girls walked back down the seemingly endless hallways and back to the kitchen where Quinn left her belongings. She gathered her things and walked back to the front door with Rachel. "I guess this is goodnight?" Quinn was unsure of how to end a date. She had been on many but never with anyone she actually cared about. She had never actually had to worry about impressing anyone until Rachel, and the pressure was making her palms sweat and the butterflies in her stomach turn into bats.

"No..not unless you don't plan on texting my alter ego Ray until you fall asleep tonight. If you are going to ditch me then I guess it's goodnight," Rachel teased. She could see that Quinn was flustered with the whole situation and wanted to lighten the mood, but based on the tight smile that formed on Quinn's lips, she had not accomplished her goal. "What's wrong? Did you not like our date? I know my interests are not mainstream or really even that interesting at all but… I was hoping th-"

"No! No, I loved our date," Quinn interrupted Rachel, "It was honestly the best date I have ever been on. I've never had anyone be so open and honest with me. Especially not on a first date. I'm just really not looking forward to going home."

Rachel nodded in understanding, "Well…" Rachel stepped closer, "What if I gave you something to...keep your mind off of things until we see each other tomorrow?"

A small smile played on Quinn's lips, "I would like that very much".

"Alright I'll go get it. Just close your eyes and keep your hands held out like this," Rachel held her hands in front of her with her palms up.

Quinn mirrored the girl's actions and closed her eyes awaiting her surprise. She wasn't sure why she had to close her eyes but played along anyway. She heard the click of Rachel's shoes on the tile fade away down another hallway. She wasn't sure which one because there were so many of them.

It felt like a long time before Quinn heard Rachel's footsteps coming back towards her but when she heard them she couldn't help but let a huge smile take over her face. "What did you bring me?" Quinn asked eagerly.

"It's a surprise, silly, I can't just tell you.." Rachel very quietly placed the item she had brought back for Quinn on the table in the front hallway and stood in front of the blonde once again. "Are you ready for your surprise?" Quinn nodded, Rachel took another step closer to the girl. "Okay, don't move alright?" Quinn nodded again and waited. She didn't feel anything in her hands but she felt the other girl take yet another step closer to her. She was confused as to what was going on until she could feel Rachel's breath tickling her lips as she hovered only inches away from her own. The blonde swallowed hard and tried to keep calm. She wasn't sure that she was prepared for what this moment might bring but she wanted it more than anything.

Rachel was slowly inching closer, she was gently brushing her lips over Quinn's and it was killing her, until Rachel wrapped her arms around Quinn's waist and pulled her in closer. The blonde's breath caught in her throat as she felt Rachel's breath tickle her skin. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest and she thought she literally might be having a heart attack.

"You would love for me to kiss you right now," Rachel's voice was low and husky and nothing like Quinn had ever imagined, "you can think about what it would feel like to kiss me." Rachel ran her hands down Quinn's back before she pulled away and Quinn had to remember how to breathe again. She looked around the room trying to find anything to focus on other than Rachel's lips. "But in all seriousness here is your surprise," Rachel grabbed a journal off the table and handed it to Quinn. "It's my journal? Diary? I don't know. It's mostly just drawings, short poems, stories. I want you to read it. I've never even told anyone about it. But this is me."

Quinn took the journal and gently held it to her chest. "Are you sure? This is only our first date."

"I'm sure, I trust you, Quinn. Please read it." Rachel smiled and kissed Quinn's cheek, "Now please go home, I don't want you to get in trouble because of me." Rachel opened the door for Quinn.

"So you will kiss my cheek but not my lips?" Quinn pouted walking out the door.

"I'll kiss them one day, when you're ready. I know about all the chemicals and whatnot now too. I just...I want to be careful with you. I'm going to take care of you Quinn. I promise." Rachel closed the door behind her and stood on her front steps.

The sun was beginning to set and the dim light made Rachel's skin almost glow. Quinn lost her breath for the second time that day as she looked up at Rachel, her mate. Rachel was in ever sense of the word perfect, she was going to take care of her, that was something she had never heard before. There was always a distance, a barrier keeping people from seeing the real Quinn, from seeing how weak she really was. She needed to be taken care of no matter how much she wanted ot believe that she could do everything on her own. She felt nothing but adoration for the girl, she still wasn't sure how to how it yet but she was slowly learning how to let down her walls and let Rachel in. "Thank you, Rachel."

Rachel folded her arms and nodded towards the car, "You don't have to thank me. Now get home, please."

Quinn did as she was told, she started her car but hesitated before pulling away from the house. She felt like so many things had changed in such a short time. So many things were going to be different in her life now because of Rachel Berry. She felt content for the first time in her life and as she drove home the only thing she thought of were the contents in the journal and Rachel's lips.

Quinn had gotten home at seven fifteen. She entered the house to find her father sitting in the living room. "Hello, Lucy." Quinn hated when her father called her by her real name, but she knew he loved it. He loved to make her feel small and inadequate. The man stood from his chair and walked towards Quinn. She knew she was in trouble, her only towered over her when he wanted to be intimidating. "What's this?" He asked pointing towards the journal.

"It's homework. I need to go do it so I'll just go up to my room and…." But before Quinn could finish her father knocked the journal out of her hands.

"Bullshit." Her father spat out. Quinn wrapped her arms around herself trying to hide from her fathers glare but her leaned closer to her. "I know you have not been at school all this time. Cheerios is over and glee club is not even scheduled today. Where were you?"

Quinn opened and closed her mouth, she had to think about what she was going to say next. Russell Fabray was a large man and Quinn knew that he would not hesitate to hit her if he didn't like her answer. "I was at Finn's house." Quinn lied but she knew she would get away with it.

Russell back away and smoothed his face, "Alright. Don't be late again. You know what happens when you break the rules. Go do your homework, I don't want to see you again until tomorrow after school."

"Yes, sir." Quinn replied as she scurried up the stairs to her room. She closed the door as quietly as she could. She leaned against the door and closed her eyes as the relief washed over her. She couldn't believe she had gotten away with that lie but she was glad she did.

When she calmed down she laid on her bed and pulled out her phone to text Rachel she was home. 'I got back 15 minutes late :/ -Q'

Within a few seconds there was a response 'Are you okay? -R'

'I'm fine, nothing happened. -Q'

'Good, I'll make sure to get you home earlier next time. -R'

'It's okay, I just need to keep an eye on the time. I'm nervous to read your journal.. -Q'

'lol why? -R'

'It's like I'm walking into your mind or something. I feel like I am invading your privacy or somthing. -Q'

'I gave it to you… -R'

'I know but still -Q'

'Just relax, it's not a school assignment you can read it whenever you want. I'm sure your curiosity will get the best of you anyway. -R'

Quinn and Rachel texted until Quinn's eyes started to droop but the blonde forced herself to stay awake. She would rather struggle with exhaustion the next day than miss a second of talking to Rachel.

She closed her eyes and saw Rachel behind her eyelids. She saw her tan skin and her chocolate brown eyes. She imagined how the girl's lips would actually feel on her own. She could almost feel Rachel's lips tickling her skin when her phone buzzed again.

'Quinn your texts are getting farther and farther apart. Go to sleep -R'

'No. I'm going to stay awake! -Q'

'Maybe you'll have dreams about my kisses… -R'

'Goodnight -Q'


	12. Chapter 12

_**Hello everyone. I know you are all going to be very angry at me for making you believe that there was an updat. I do have this chapter finished however I am not going to present it to you until it is fully edited. Unfortunately my beta has become a bit overwhelmed with school and has not had time to look over my work. I understand if you are all very disappointed, however to make up for this week being such a disappointment I will make it my mission to post TWO new chapters next week instead of the normal single chapter update. I hope that this will be enough for you, my lovely readers, to forgive me for getting so far behind on my work. Once again I am deeply sorry for this disappointment. But please know that I have been writing ahead trying to keep this from happening anymore. I now give you all full permission to yell at me. **_


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello my lovely readers! As I promised this is the first of the two chapters I promised you this week. I know it took a little while but they are finally here. The second of the two may have a couple of typos and rough patches simply because, well when you read it I think you will understand. It's an intense chapter. Anyway enjoy :)**

Chapter 12

It had been two weeks since their first date and Rachel was still enamored by Quinn. The two girls had not even had their first kiss, and yet it still felt as though they had known each other for years. Even though they were mates Rachel was still surprised at how well they got along. They had come a long way from the first day they had met. They had even formed a routine to keep Quinn from getting in trouble at home. Every day Quinn and Rachel would drive to school separately, and they would leave separately but always meet up at Rachel's house after school. They would spend two and a half hours together, and then Quinn would drive home.

Rachel had become very content with the way her life had changed over the past two weeks. She had a girl who was almost her girlfriend. But most importantly she had a friend. Quinn was the first friend Rachel had ever had besides her butler. Rachel had always found acquaintances from moving around so much but never a real friend. Quinn, however, really seemed to be interested in her, which had boosted her self - esteem greatly.

Rachel found herself walking down the hallways with her head held high - she was no longer the new girl who no one knew - she was the girl who Quinn Fabray was secretly dating. Almost.

Everything was going perfectly, except for one small detail. Quinn had not asked her to be her girlfriend yet, the blonde had not even asked her on a proper date. Rachel had made the first move by planning the first date, which had gone very well. The last few weeks in general had gone well and Rachel was amazed that her and Quinn were not (secretly) officially dating yet. The two girls were becoming closer much fast than Rachel had ever expected them to.

Quinn and Rachel were texting nearly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They texted in class, they texted when they got home, they texted during Glee Club, after Glee Club, sometimes they even texted each other while they were together, but only when they couldn't speak out loud due to company that did not know their secret.

Rachel could probably tell a complete stranger almost everything they needed to know about Quinn Fabray. Her favorite color was yellow, she had hazel eyes, genuine blonde hair, she was captain of the Cheerios, her favorite food was bacon - unfortunately, her favorite type of music was Christian rock, and she wished she could have a dog but her parents would never let her. And that was only off the top of her head.

Rachel had come to know many things about Quinn, but there were still so many things she longed to know. Why was her father so awful to her? What had her father actually done to make her so scared? Why were her initials LF and not QF?

Rachel longed to know these questions but she knew it was too early to ask, and she didn't want to make Quinn shut her out after only two weeks. She had finally gotten to a place in life where she was happy and not just content. She didn't want to ruin it by being nosy. She would wait for the right time and place to ask Quinn all of these questions.

However, Rachel did want a girlfriend and she had no problem pushing Quinn to make that happen. How to get Quinn to ask her out was the question. She could sing, but that would be too obvious, Glee Club was a definite no.

She needed to subtly direct the blonde into understanding that she was the one who needed to make the move now. As Rachel sat in fourth period she pulled out a piece of paper and began to list ways she could coax Quinn into asking her out. But none of them were good enough. When she got to twenty and she still wasn't pleased with her planning skills, she simply resorted to an old fashioned method. Wait. Quinn would have to come around eventually.

"Do you have any plans tomorrow?" Rachel looked up from her seat to find Quinn towering over her with an expectant look on her face.

"No. I don't think I have anything planned. Why do you ask?" Rachel tried not to get her hopes up, but she knew it wouldn't be anything she wanted to hear. They were sitting in the middle of Glee Club, the brunette knew that Quinn would never be so forward in front of so many people.

"Could you help me with my pitch after school? I've been going flat lately. I'd really appreciate some help." It was a strange question but Rachel was willing to play along.

"Uh - sure. I can help. Did you have a location in mind?"

"Just meet my by my car. I know a place." Quinn took her spot behind Rachel and folded her hands in her lap. When the brunette turned to see what was up with the blonde, she saw that the girl had a small smile on her face. This was a trick. They were not going to be practicing at all.

Rachel walked to Quinn's car just as she had asked her too but when she arrived at the yellow beetle, Quinn was nowhere to be found. Rachel waited for a few minutes before deciding Quinn had changed her mind and decided not to take Rachel wherever they were going. Rachel turned to leave and was met by Quinn, without her Cheerios uniform on. She had on a light yellow sundress with white flowers.

Rachel put her hand to her chest and let her heart slow down, "Quinn! You scared me."

"I'm sorry, Rach, I had to change before I came out here. I should have let you know. Are you ready?" Rachel nodded yes and Quinn pulled her keys out of her purse and unlocked the car. "Great. Let's go."

After fifteen minutes of silent driving, Rachel couldn't take it anymore. "Where are we going?" Rachel asked as politely as she could.

"You'll see." Quinn was being so secretive. Rachel was beginning to get her hopes up. Maybe this was the big day. Maybe Quinn was going to ask her. Rachel felt silly getting so excited for something so trivial. But Rachel couldn't help but feel giddy at the fact that she was finally going to have someone who loved her and wasn't afraid to admit it - other than her fathers of course.

"Okay," Rachel folded her hands in her lap and stared out the window. She tapped her foot anxiously as her mind tried to wrap around what Quinn might have planned for today. She looked out the window for clues, but nothing that passed by helped. They were going nowhere near her house, nor Quinn's, not that the blonde would take her there anyway. They drove past breadstix, the town's most popular restaurant and, she gave up on the idea of a dinner date. "Quinn, will you please just give me a clue as to where we are going?" Rachel tried again.

Quinn looked away from the road for a moment to look at the anxious brunette next to her and chuckled at the helpless look in her eyes. She knew Rachel would never be able to handle a surprise. "I can't do that."

"Why? I need to know. You know that I plan almost every moment of every day. This is killing me." Rachel whined.

"You will know when we get there, okay?" Quinn smiled to herself, trying to hide her amusement but failing as she let out another quiet chuckle.

Rachel folded her arms across her chest and huffed. "Quinn Fabray, I demand that you tell me where we are going this instant!"

A devious smile spread across Quinn's lips, "And what are you going to do if I don't tell you?"

"Do you want to wait and find out?" Rachel challenged the blonde.

"I think I would actually." Quinn wasn't going to give in to Rachel's antics this time. She was going to stay strong.

"Ugh! You are so stubborn!" Rachel yelled, which only made Quinn burst out in laughter. "Why are you laughing? This is not funny at all. Tell me now!" Rachel yelled again. But Quinn only laughed harder.

"You are such a diva and you're kind of cute when you get mad, but I'm still not going to tell you where we are going." Quinn said calmly.

"Why not? Why are you torturing me? Is this a cruel joke are you going t -"

"Rachel. We're here already. Look" Quinn motioned towards the building they were parked in front of.

"A book store? Why? Why would you put me through all of this trouble just to show me a bookstore?"

"Because you showed me your favorite places in your house on our first date and now I am going to show you my favorite places in Lima on our second date."

Rachel stared at the blonde with a mortified look on her face, "That is so sweet….I feel like a jerk now." Rachel worried her hands in her lap, too ashamed to look at Quinn.

"It's okay, Rach, really. We've been -welll - I don't know what we are but we have been mates for long enough that I knew you would not react well to a surprise. I have to admit, I kind of wanted to see your diva tantrum and I was not disappointed."

Rachel's jaw dropped in awe as she stared at Quinn. "I honestly felt bad, but now I just want to smack you. Take me in the bookstore before I lose control of my limbs." Rachel stepped out of the car and slammed the door.

Quinn chuckled as she followed after the brunette and held open the door. "After you." Rachel looked away from the blonde as she entered the store and Quinn kept the smirk on her face. The blonde followed the girl to the middle of the store and watched as she looked around. "This is probably my favorite place in Lima." Quinn moved towards the literature section. "...and this is my favorite part of the store."

Rachel looked at the blonde as if she were crazy when she saw the books around them. Most of them were children's books: _Where the Wild thing Grow, Charlotte's Webb, A Wrinkle in Time_. "I know what you are thinking, '_Quinn what are you doing reading children's books?' _I promise you I'm not reading all children's books. My favorite book is a children's book though." Quinn picked up a book and flipped through the pages, "I have my own copy at home, but I can't bring you here so I figured, why not bring you to the place where my love of literature began?"

Rachel took the book from Quinn and looked it over. _Alice in Wonderland._ She flipped through the pages and looked at the illustrations throughout the book. "This is absolutely precious, Quinn," Rachel said as she flipped through the book. "But why is this your favorite book?"

"Well, it's hard to explain. Alice is an innocent girl who is put into situations she cannot control nor is she ready for. But she is put into a world where everyone is crazy and she seems to be the only one is is sane. There are many more interpretations that I have noticed after reading it over and over, but I feel kind of connected to Alice in a way because of my family. I feel like I am the only sane one there."

Rachel nodded in understanding. She looked down at Alice on the cover of the book. She looked so small and helpless in the big 'wonderland'. It made her think of Quinn as a little girl walking around her big house terrified, that her father might come after her. "I can't imagine feeling that way. Being afraid of the man who is supposed to love you the most. I'm so sorry you have to live this way, Quinn."

Quinn sighed quietly and look down at her feet as she dug her toes into the carpet. "It's okay." When Rachel gave her a pointed look, she explained further. "No, I know it's not okay. I just mean. I'm used to it. It's okay because I know that one day it will be over. I won't be under my father's thumb forever. Until I am done with my college expenses, I will be chained by him. But that's okay now."

Rachel frowned at Quinn's response, "Why is it okay? Nothing like that should ever be okay."

"It's okay because after it's all over, I have you. Through it all I have you. You are going to be here every step of the way. If my father ever hurts me again, I know that I can go to you. If he -" Quinn stopped herself before she said too much too soon. But Rachel had already caught on to the fact that Quinn was trying to hide something.

"If he what?" Rachel asked calmly.

Quinn didn't want to scare Rachel away with how cruel her father could be. She wanted to keep her past away from Rachel until she was ready to face how the brunette might react to hearing that Quinn's own father had lost control and almost killed her. Quinn knew that it would take a strong person to overcome that fact and she hoped that Rachel would be that person, but she was too scared to risk it now.

"I'm just not ready to share that part of my life yet, I'm sorry." Quinn took a step towards Rachel and took one of her hands in her own, the touch of the tan skin on her own sent a warmth through her body. She had learned to feel comfort in that warmth, it had made its way to rest in the pit of her stomach, willing her to push the boundaries on her relationship, but she knew she had to restrain. She wasn't ready and her body needed to accept that. "I will tell you someday. Just not today."

Rachel nodded in understanding and looked away from the blonde, not able to handle the intensity of the hazel eyes staring right through her. Over the past few weeks, Rachel had been diverting her gaze away from Quinn's more and more often. The girl's eyes had a power over her that she was struggling to overpower. But instead of allowing herself to drown in the hazel eyes, she cleared her throat and put the book back on the shelf. "I understand, Quinn. Are there anymore places you want to show me?"

Quinn smiled and made her way towards the door. "We have many more places I need to show you actually."

"Are you going to tell me where we are going now?" Rachel asked hopefully.

"Of course not. I enjoyed your first tantrum too much," Quinn teased as she walked out of the bookstore.

"You put me through all of that _again _just to bring me to another store? Are you trying to kill me with anticipation?" Rachel whined.

"Of all people I thought you would have appreciated this particular store the most," Quinn defended.

"I do appreciate what pianos have to offer to my musical talent and my future career, but I don't even even play the piano. I only know the basic scales for finding my pitch," Rachel explained.

"Well that may be, but I can play the piano." Quinn stated as she walked towards the entrance of the store.

"You are really enjoying making me look stupid today aren't you?" Rachel pouted as she followed Quinn into the store.

"You are making yourself look stupid," Quinn said as she walked towards the back of the store. "I brought you here for two reasons." Quinn walked to a room that had her name on it and opened the door for Rachel to walk in, "I want to play my favorite piano for you, but I also want to hear you sing. I mean really sing, not that classic rock crap Mr. Schue is always making us sing in Glee Club. I want to hear you sing from in here." Quinn placed her hand on Rachel's heart and felt the warmth travel up her arm again. She had to take a moment just to appreciate the fact that just touching Rachel had such an effect on her. No one had ever brought out any real emotion in the blonde, but Rachel seemed to just break through every wall she had built without even trying. "So, will you sing for me?" Quinn asked hopefully.

"How did you even -" Rachel began to ask but Quinn cut her off.

"I know the owner. I come here on a weekly basis to test on grand pianos for him. Please sing." Quinn pleaded.

"You test grand pianos here? You must be amazing then." Rachel was astounded at how much Quinn actually hid about herself. The girl had never even touched the piano in the Glee Club, not that it was worthy of her talents, considering the pianos in the store. "I'll sing as long as you play for me first."

"Deal." Quinn adjusted the bench in front of the piano and played a few basic warm ups to prepare for her piece. "I'm not sure what to play you. I - I guess I can play you my favorite piece,Ives: Piano Sonata No.2 It's one of the hardest songs I have ever played. I couldn't really tell you why it's my favorite, I guess because…it kind of reminds me of winter" Quinn chuckled to herself before she placed her hands on the keys and closed her eyes, seeing the notes behind her eyelids she began to play.

Rachel watched as Quinn's hands glided over the keys, the music wasn't fast, but her hands were confident about each note she played. She watched as Quinn slowly faded away into the music swaying forward and back, keeping time with her body. The blonde felt the music; she was the music. In that moment nothing existed except for Quinn and the grand piano she played so beautifully.

Rachel could feel her eyes welling up at the sight of the blonde. She looked so happy, so at peace as she played. This was something that no one could ever take away from Quinn, and knowing that made Rachel feel just a little bit better about everything that was still to come.

When Quinn finally opened her eyes and looked up at Rachel, she saw her tear streaked face and instantly rose from her chair to wipe them dry. "Is something wrong?" Quinn asked gently.

"No, of course not. That was just so - moving. You play beautifully. Quinn." Rachel sniffled and wiped at her eyes.

Quinn smiled and sat back down at the piano. "Thank you, Rachel, but nothing is ever going to be more beautiful than the sound of your voice accompanied by my piano."

Rachel rolled her eyes and scoffed at the blonde, "Do you have to ruin every moment we have together?"

"Yes, it's my job. Do you have a song in mind?"

"Well...I. _My Man_ is my favorite song to sing, as well as the hardest." Rachel thought out loud. She had to admit she was slightly intimidated by Quinn's playing, "Is that okay?"

"Of course it's okay. You just start singing and I will keep up with you. Okay?"

Rachel stood in front of Quinn and nodded when she was ready to begin. Rachel sang the first few words of the song before Quinn began to play along with a few soft chords under her voice. At first Rachel was a bit nervous, singing completely acoustic and alone with Quinn, singing a song that made her question her voice and talent and left her emotionally vulnerable. She was apprehensive to fully commit to the song. As Rachel came to the climax of the song Quinn followed and by the end of the song Rachel felt as though she might explode from the adrenaline rushing through her veins from the intensity of the music surrounding her.

After the last note, Rachel wasn't sure she could look at Quinn - or even move for that matter. She simply stood there, reflecting on what had just happened. She stared at the wall behind Quinn and thought about what she was feeling. She had already said enough stupid things, she didn't need to make a fool of herself again. The brunette turned around and worried her hands in front of her. "Quinn...I...I didn't know you could do that."

"I didn't either." Quinn's voice drifted up from behind her, but when Rachel turned around, the blonde was standing in front of her. "I -" But there were no more words. Quinn leaned down and brushed her lips against Rachel's. She wrapped her arms around the girl's waist and pulled her closer. Quinn hesitated before gently closing the distance between them. Quinn instantly felt the warmth take over her body, she could feel Rachel everywhere. She held Rachel closer not wanting to let go of the girl.

As the kiss intensified, Quinn knew she needed to stop. They couldn't go too far, they couldn't let themselves bond to fast, but as she stood in the practice room and kissed Rachel Berry with everything she had, she wasn't sure she could stop. Rachel's hands tangled into her hair and Quinn's hands balled into fists, grabbing Rachel's shirt. It wasn't until the blonde heard a low moan that she pushed the brunette away and tried to catch her breath. "Rachel...I-I'm sorry. I know you wanted to take it slow, _we _need to take it slow. I don't know what came over me."

Rachel just stared wide eyed at Quinn as she tried to calm the humming in her body, every part of her felt as though it were vibrating as she felt the chemicals racing through her veins. She knew that no damage had been done but she couldn't help but feel overwhelmed each time their bond became stronger. "It's okay. We just have to be more careful. Are you okay?" Rachel asked still coming down from her slight high.

"Yeah, just a little lightheaded," Quinn admitted.

Rachel nodded, "I think...I think we should go home now."

Quinn nodded and the two girls headed out to the car. They drove home in silence, not because it was awkward but because they didn't need to speak. They could both feel how happy the other was about the day they had just spent together. They both knew they could only go up from here. They had each other and that was all that mattered.

When Quinn drove up to Rachel's house at exactly six-forty-five the two girls didn't kiss goodbye, they knew they couldn't risk it. Rachel simply got out of the car and walked to her front door. Before she entered, she turned around and gave Quinn a timid wave before entering her house and closing the door behind her.

Quinn drove the rest of the way home and went straight to her room, where she plopped onto her bed and stared at her ceiling as usual, except this time instead of thinking about everything she did wrong, everything she would never have, she thought about all the things that were in her future. She thought about Rachel Berry, the girl who had single - handedly saved her life.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello again my lovely readers! So this chapter is a bit shorter I know :/ I'm sorry if you feel a bit cheated by the lack of length. This chapter is honestly my favorite by far though. Up to this point anyway. I hope you like it as much as I do. Also I have realized that I really havn't been answering as many questions as I probably should have. If you would like me to start personally answering you questions I can definitely start adding them to my author's spiel at the beginning of each chapter if that would help at all. Thank you again for reading and please enjoy. :)**

Chapter 13 (Quinn)

Quinn knocked on the Berry's door at exactly seven pm just as she had planned. She straightened her dress and smoothed out her hair and finally rang the doorbell. There was nothing that could ruin this night. Not a single thing. She was finally going to ask Rachel Berry to be her _official_ girlfriend. The plan was fool-proof and the idea was amazing. Quinn got to be out of the house for an entire day and Rachel got to be wooed. Win-win.

The plan had started about a week or two after Rachel gave Quinn the journal. Quinn finally opened it and began reading into the mind of Rachel. It was fascinating, the brunette had all the plans and dreams and aspirations. It was quite impressive. Quinn had to give it to the girl she knew her stuff. She had her entire life planned out down to the day the address she would be living at when she made it big in New York.

The only thing that wasn't set in stone was a companion, a friend, anyone. The only thing that existed was Rachel and as the dates at the top of the page grew closer and closer to the present day Rachel seemed to grow more and more depressed about the fact that she didn't have anyone. She had more drive, but less passion, more determination but less confidence. It almost brought Quinn to tears how much it affected her mate that she had no friends, no one to confide in or comfort her. Not even her dads, in all the time that Quinn had been to her house she had only seen Jerry, her parents were never seen.

The passages that had sparked Quinn's interest the most though were the ones towards the end. The ones about herself. there were about two weeks worth of journal entries solely about the blonde.

_August 23, 2010_

_I accidentally bumped into a blonde girl today and she looked absolutely terrified, in Indiana all the kids used to call me ugly, I know they we were all only four but it still hurt. What if they were right? What if my horrifying physical features scared her away. I hope not. I also have these weird letters on my wrist. I don't know what they are. They look like a tattoo but I have never had a needle near me in my life. I should probably ask my dads._

_August 30, 2010_

_I absolutely hate Quinn. She has already confronted me twice about how much she hates me. She's my mate? Some mate she is. Her initials don't even match my sign aren't they supposed to? I hate her. I wish I had a different mate._

There were a few that stopped Quinn in her tracks, she wasn't sure she could finish it when she saw that Rachel really did hate her. Quinn had been cruel and was underserving of the second chance she had been given but she knew this was how it was meant to be so she had to make it right. No matter what she had to do everything in her power to show Rachel that she really did have feelings for her. She was smitten with the girl. All she could think about was Rachel. Her soft, brown, hair. Her plump, pouty lips. Her sinfully short skirts with those ugly sweaters. Rachel was everything Quinn could have imagined in a mate, minus the fact that she was a girl, but at this point that was irrelevant.

What really mattered was the last passage of the journal.

_September 15, 2010_

_Quinn, I hope you are reading this. I know we don't know each other. I know some of the things I have said in this book are hurtful, but some of the things you said to my face were hurtful as well. Let's just call it even and focus on the future. Make a fresh new start. I have pressed a fresh, white, gardenia from my garden as a symbol that this indeed is a new start. Let's forget about our past and make a new future. I don't know about you but I am very happy that I finally found you. I have been so lonely for so long and last night when you showed up at my door, I was honestly going to pick Finn. But you asked for a second chance and I am giving you one. I know you will do the right thing now. I am trusting that you will treat me with love and respect and I will do the same. But the point of this is to tell you that I don't know you but I already have so much love to give you. As long as you let me, I will love you until the end of time. As long as my soul is still alive the love I have for you will always hold you in my heart. I am going to make sure that I keep you safe and out of harms way, no matter what comes our way. Your father will not have the chance to hurt you again and if he does I swear on Barbra that I will find a way to save you. I will always find a way. I take back what I said before. I am so glad you are my mate, I wouldn't give you up for anything in the world. _

When Quinn was done reading the last passage she cried until she had no more tears left, she held the book to her chest and prayed to God that her father didn't ruin this for her. She prayed that nothing came between the two of them and that day she vowed to herself and Rachel that she would take care of Rachel. She would be patient and kind and everything that love is meant to be. And so far she has done a pretty good job.

The day after Quinn read the last page of the journal she brought it to school and showed Santana and Brittany. She showed them only the last passage and asked them for help asking the girl to be hers. The two girls smiled brightly and agreed to help the blonde plan the most romantic and over the top mate proposal anyone had ever seen.

When the blonde was done figuring out the details with Santana and Brittany she turned to Jerry to help her set up everything in the house. Everyday during lunch Quinn drove to Rachel's house to plan out the big day with Jerry. Rachel thankfully never suspected a thing. She told the brunette that she needed to wear formal attire because there were going to be going on their first fancy date and now here she was standing on her front steps waiting for her future girlfriend to open the door.

When the door finally swung open and revealed Rachel in a slim black dress, her hair was down in bouncing curls and she actually had make up one. Quinn had never seen make up on the girl's face before. "Hi." Quinn breathed out still trying to slow her heartbeat from the sight of the beautiful girl before her.

Rachel stared down at Quinn and was amused how how long the girl stood in her doorway, "Quinn, you can come in, you know." Rachel said as she moved away from the door to let the blonde in.

Quinn shook her thoughts away and focused on the task at hand. _Woo Rachel._ As long as she could keep her eyes off the girl for more than five minutes tonight would go smoothly, she just had to focus and stick to the plan.

"Are you ready for our third date?" Quinn asked as she walked towards the kitchen leaving Rachel behind.

Rachel stood in the front hallway and stared after Quinn. This was the second time Quinn was acting strange, Sneaking around, surprising her. Not that Rachel minded, she still hated surprises though and she was still waiting for the blondes proposal of a relationship. But she had a feeling that it was getting close. But unlike last time she was not going to get her hopes up. The fact that QUinn was becoming more serious about their relationship was enough for her. It was more than enough.

"I'm definitely ready for this date" Rachel said as she followed Quinn into the kitchen. "What do you have planned for me this time?"

Quinn stood in the middle of the kitchen with a lighter in her hand. "I have prepared a romantic candle lit dinner. With romantic music as well." Quinn walked over the the kitchen to play the cd she had inserted into the sound system and the music filled the room.

Rachel looked down at the table and saw two plates sitting out with a full meal waiting for her. "Did you cook this?" Rachel asked looking around, "How did you do all of this without me knowing? I have been here all night."

Quinn smirked and pulled out a chair for Rachel, "I have been planning this night for a while now, so I asked Jerry to help me out."

"He cooked my favorite meal" Rachel cooed as she started cutting up her food.

"Yeah, I was a bit skeptical about the vegan lasagna, but after I tasted it the first time he made it I knew it was the right choice." Quinn sat down across from Rachel and looked at the girl, reveling in the joy she had brought to the girl from the meal she had not even made. "I'm glad you're happy with the food. Hopefully you are as impressed with the rest of the night."

"What else do you have planned?" Rachel asked between mouthfuls of food.

"I can't tell you. It's a surprise." Quinn said with a devious smile.

Rachel growled and rolled her eyes not even bothering to throw another diva fit. She was eating delicious food and knew a great night was ahead of her, she was not going to ruin it for herself.

The two girls were silent for a while as they ate their food before Rachel noticed something familiar. The music in the background was...piano music. "Is this you?" Rachel asked pointing into the air to indicate she was talking about the music.

"It is me." Quinn answered.

"How did you...did you do this in my studio? How did you...how did you make this playlist?" Rachel asked in awe, "This is literally my top twenty songs on my ipod."

"I may have hacked your ipod with the help of Jerry."

Rachel looked at Quinn and was speechless, until a few moments later she found her words again, "So you snuck around my house, plotted with my butler, and broke into my iPod and recording studio just to plan a date for me."

Quinn smirked and nodded her head in confirmation. "That is the most romantic thing I have ever heard." Rachel said turning back to her food to shovel more "" into her mouth. "What else did you do you have planned for me?" Rachel asked after she had finished her plate.

"Are we going to have to go over this every time we have a date. It's a surprise, Rachel, I can't tell you or it will be ruined." The blonde said calmly.

"Ugh -" Rachel huffed annoyed at Quinn's antics, "You know I hate surprises!"

"Yes, and that is exactly why I keep planning them. I live for the diva tantrum." Quinn smiled as Rachel crossed her arms across her chest and glared at the blonde.

Rachel continued to glare but didn't open her mouth, she knew something stupid would come out so she gave her mate the dirtiest look she could muster before getting up to take her plate to the kitchen. "Where do you think you're going?" Quinn called after her.

"To clean my plate?" Rachel said as she walked towards the sink.

"But there's desert." Quinn said with a devilish grin.

"Desert? What kind of desert?" Rachel wandered back towards the table, not wanting to commit to sitting back down if she didn't approve of the food she was being offered.

Quinn smiled again, "Why don't you sit down so that we can find out?"

"Why are you being so awful today?" Rachel asked as she made her way back to her chair. "You never give me a plan to follow and it drives me nuts!"

"I promise this will be the last surprise for a while." Quinn reassured the girl.

Rachel leaned back in her chair and glared at Quinn for the third time tonight. "Fine. Can I just have my desert now?"

"Yes, you can have it. Just be patient." Jerry walked into the room with a covered tray and placed it on the table.

"Enjoy, you too." He smiled as he walked away, "But don't enjoy yourselves too much," He winked before walking out of the room.

"Quinn…." Rachel asked skeptical of what could be under the silver top.

"Go ahead, lift it up." Quinn reassured, "I told you. Desert." This was the moment Quinn had been waiting for all night. SHe hoped Rachel went along with it. If she didn't, she didn't know what she would do.

Rachel gently lifted the lid to find that there was no desert on the platter at all, instead there was an envelope. Rachel looked up at Quinn questioning whether or not she should open the envelope. She ripped it open and pulled out the letter that was inside.

_Rachel, _

_I finally read your journal without tell you, which still felt wrong. I felt like I was walking into your mind, walking through the maze that was Rachel Berry and finally finding the prize in the middle. Your heart. I was not confident that I could find a way to show you that I was serious about this. I was not sure that I could ask you to be mine in a way that would be grand enough to satisfy your wildest dreams. I wanted to be the knight in shining armor you talked about, but I also wanted to be those gentle arms that cuddle away all the pain. And soon towards the end I realized that I didn't have to be everything you wanted me to be because I already am everything you want. I don't have to try to be someone I'm not because you like who I am. You make me want to be a better person and you make me see that this life is not as hopeless and miserable as I thought it was. There were a few times in my life when I felt like I was falling deeper and deeper into the darkness that has been consuming me all these years, but you are the glimmer of light that has shown me the dark doesn't last forever. So, I would like to ask you in the best way I know how. _

_Please follow Jerry now._

Rachel looked up to see that Quinn was gone from her seat and Jerry was in her place. Even if the blonde had been sitting there Rachel would not have known what to say. She had been so deeply moved by Quinn's words she was overwhelmed with emotions. But she was finally moved out of her silence by Jerry's presence, "Are you ready?" He asked her with a serious look on his face.

"I think so." Rachel said rising from her seat. "I've been waiting for this for so long and now that it's finally here…"

"It'll be fine. You two were meant for each other." Jerry held out his hand and led Rachel out of the dining room.

Jerry led Rachel upstairs towards her room and continued down until they reached a door Rachel was never allowed in, "What is this room?"

"It's always been empty. It was just a guest room for a long time. Your fathers always had it made in each house just in case...just in case you found your mate. So they could live here. But Quinn had another idea for it." There was a pause before Jerry realized Rachel was not going to walk in the room. "It's okay, Rachel, don't be scared."

Rachel moved forwards to open the door but hesitated, unsure of how she should approach this moment. "Should I knock? I don't know -I-I don't want to be rude."

Jerry pushed her towards the door, "Just go in, she's waiting for you."

Rachel wrapped her fingers around the door knob and slowly turned it. She stepped through the door and into a dimly lit room. Quinn was standing in the middle of the room with her hands folded in front of her. "Hi," Quinn's voice was soft and timid, so different than Rachel had ever heard it before.

"Hi," Rachel nervously tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

"This is the last surprise I have for you, for a while at least," Quinn took a few steps towards Rachel so she could see her face more clearly, "You look scared." Quinn immediately felt a sense of failure, she had wanted to make Rachel feel special and loved, not scared and small.

"No, I'm just...I feel like..I thought I would be ready for this moment. But it still took me by surprise." Rachel looked down at the ground feeling too vulnerable to look at the blonde.

"It's okay. I was scared too, I was scared you wouldn't like this. But I think you will. I hope so at least." Quinn was becoming less confident with each moment that passed. But she needed to stay strong for Rachel's sake.

"What is _this_?" Rachel asked scanning the room they were in. She could barely see anything because the lights were so dim.

"You'll find out in a moment." Quinn pointed to the light switch on the wall, "Turn that on."

Rachel flipped the switch to reveal what Quinn had done for her. The entire room was turned into a theatre. The walls were painted into murals of the broadway theatre the gold with red trimming. The renaissance murals lining the top of the walls. It looked like a mini broadway. There were red velvet drapes against the wall and over the windows that resembled the curtains. The walls were painted with such great detail it almost looked like the real theater.

The bed posts were painted gold and the quilt was red velvet to resemble the chairs. Rachel turned around and saw that her name was on the front wall next to the door was her name in bright lights.

_Tonights Show: Funny Girl_

_Rachel Berry_

Rachel looked up to see that the ceiling had been painted to look as though it were bending upwards just as the theatre did. She had to fight the tears threatening to spill onto her cheeks. "How did you do all of this?" Rachel breathed out.

"Well, I read your journal. First I looked up the broadway theatre in New York, which was harder to find than I thought it would be. There are so many, but eventually I just picked the Lyric theatre because it has the most seats. I hope you end up there so more people can witness your amazing talent. Then I went to the art store and bought as much paint as I could. Then I went to the fabric store and bought all the fabric and Sometimes I could see how much pain you were in from moving so much. You didn't feel at home anywhere. I want this to be your home. With me. This house, with this room that I made for you. I want this to be your home. But I made this room because this is how I see you. One day this won't be a big art project, you will really go to this theatre every day and perform. Just as you have always dreamed."

" Quinn dug her toe into the carpet and tried to hide the fact that her cheeks were burning red, "Do you like it?"

"Do I like it? I'm overwhelmed with-with-I'm not sure there is a word to encompass the intense joy I am feeling right now. I can't believe you did all of this. Did you paint this yourself?" Rachel asked bringing her hands up to wipe the unshed tears away from her eyes.

"I did. It took a lot of sneaking around but I did it. Every night I wasn't doing homework or at cheerios practice I was here painting this for you." Quinn said. "I have my last surprise for you though. I promise you it's the last one." Quinn walked over to the bedside table and pulled a box out of the drawer. She approached Rachel and pulled it open revealing a golden necklace with a gold star on it. "Rachel, I couldn't get you a ring because I thought that would be too obvious, so I got you a gold star. I know it's not much but it's the best I could do given the circumstances. I know that stars are kind of your thing judging by the way they are on all of your things so, I thought, I would give you a star of your own so that you could be my star too. You shine brighter than anyone I have ever met and I am so honored that fate has chosen you as my mate. So Rachel, will you be my girlfriend?"

Rachel nodded her head furiously accepting Quinn's proposal, the tears finally fell from her eyes and as Quinn took the necklace out of it's case and hooked it onto Rachel's neck she was so thankful that Quinn had come to her window that night and stopped her from choosing Finn. Finn would have never done anything like this for her, he would have brought her flowers and maybe taken her to bread stix. But here was Quinn, her true mate giving her something she never could have imagined herself.

It took Rachel a good half hour to stop crying after Quinn's surprise. The blonde had simply led Rachel to the bed and held her in her arms until the girl had calmed down. The night had gone better than Quinn could have ever expected. Her plan had not only been a success, but she had moved Rachel to tears, well sobbing, but that still counts. She was ending her night holding her mate in her arms and she couldn't think of any better place to be. "You okay now?" Quinn asked the smaller girl.

"I'm so much better than okay. I'm your girlfriend, what could be better than that?" Rachel sniffed before wiping at her face and moving away from Quinn. The blonde pouted at the loss of contact but quickly smiled again once she saw Rachel looking around the room in awe.

She knew they didn't love each other yet. It was too soon, the bond was too weak, but Quinn knew that whatever she felt for the girl felt like love. It felt like what she had been told love would be like. The way Brittany and Santana looked at each other finally made sense. Their trips to the locker room in the middle of the day, their constant need to be together. Quinn finally understood. She knew that she and Rachel had a long way to go before they were bonded and in love, but every step of the way would be worth it because if this was the way she was going to feel for the rest of her life a few more years of hiding would be well worth it.


End file.
